John Hayes 1/7/21 John Hayes 1/7/21

Mittens for Winter-Time RC Flying

Don’t stop flying your RC airplanes or drones this winter. Although, nothing sends chills through your hands like holding on to a metal transmitter box.

Just get yourself some fold-over mittens.

I use the Simms flying fishing fold-over mittens in, and they work great. IMAGE. I have the necessary feel for the sticks with these fold-over mittens while protecting my hands from the cold bare metal. I can fold them over when I’m done flying and can warm my hands up. I get the benefit of the “glove fingers” for control and the warming impact of mittens when I fold over the cover.

These mittens are 100% polyester and are not waterproof. They have half fingers and a mitten overlay. The mitten fold-over provides the warmth of a mitten while the fingers give control and dexterity. The Simms mittens have an elastic band to secure the fold over for both your fingers and thumb. They also have a snap that allows them to be snapped together.

The gloves can be machine washed and tumble dried on low. I have used these for fly fishing, and washing the gloves got all the fish smell out.

I have larges, and they seem to be true to their size. Come cooler temperatures, these gloves/mittens are permanently in my car.

An inexpensive item for your cool-weather kit allows you to extend your flying season and get out there year-round.

I hope this helps and keep flying.

John Hayes 12/23/20 John Hayes 12/23/20

Weekly Beginner's Taxiway 2020-12-23

Reviews, thoughts, and events from the week in RC Airplanes

Term of the Week

Electronic Speed Control (“ESC”) is the on-board computer that controls the speed of your RC airplane. The ESC plugs both into your battery and into the throttle port on your receiver. RC Airplanes has an excellent description of the ESC.

ESC’s are differentiated by brushless vs. brushed and by the maximum current they can take. The price increases as the maximum current rating increases. Using a battery with a current above what the ESC is rated for can cause the ESC to malfunction and catch fire. Both are unintended consequences. If you are changing out an ESC, if your ESC with the battery and motor you are using, you should be fine.

Plane Reviews and Tips

Best RC Airplane Tool for 2021 - RC Beginners - This is by far the best tool for getting into the RC airplane hobby, hint, and you don’t get cold in the winter!

Need to teach yourself to fly? Here is a great series to help RCGS Chapter 1.2 Choosing a Model - Teaching Yourself to Fly-

Are you confused by all the RC airplane acronyms? Here are all the essential acronyms defined. RC Hobby Acronyms for Beginners | Quick Tip | Motion RC

Tool of the Trade

Ball link pliers - These pliers are familiar to helicopter pilots but are useful for us RC airplane pilots. Loosening and attaching the servo arm clevises on a control service can be challenging, and as most of them are plastic and can break if you aren’t gentle.

These pliers can get in the clevis and release the attachment point and allow for adjustment. And the simple press of the plyers applies even pressure and secures the clevis attachment.

A simple, inexpensive tool that is a toolbox must-have.

John Hayes 11/1/20 John Hayes 11/1/20

Top 6 Starter and Beginner Remote Control Airplanes

New to the RC airplane hobby? Looking for a good trainer plane? Here are my top six trainer RC airplanes. First, here are the features I look for in a trainer or beginner plane:

Tricycle landing gear
High wing (wing on the top of the fuselage) as opposed to a low wing aircraft
Larger wingspan (1.0 meters to 1.6 meters). – larger wingspan makes the plane more stable, especially in the wind. You might think small planes are easier to fly, that isn’t the case.

1. Apprentice – Tricycle landing gear and high wing make this an excellent trainer plane. The wing is attached with rubber bands, which gives the plane more forgiveness with rough landings. Also, the Apprentice is easy to transport with the wing easily removed from the fuselage.

2. Pandora – Tricycle landing gear and the Pandora is convertible from a high wing to a low-wing aircraft. As you become more confident in your piloting skills, you can convert the plane into a low-wing plane—all these features for a reasonable price. Typically priced below the Apprentice.

3. Timber – There are three versions of the Timber. I like this plane’s versatility as you can take off and land quickly, commonly known as STOL (Short Takeoff and landing), do all the acrobatics you want, even 3D flying, and has a large wing area for stable flying. A nice plane you can grow with as your skills progress. Flaps allow for slow landings, which help reduce the damage associated with hard landings.

4. AeroScout. - With a 1.1-meter wingspan, a great starter plane. AeroScout’s unique feature is that it is a pusher plane. The motor and propeller are on top of the wing facing the tail (“pusher”). This design helps protect the propeller and motor from damage on heavy crashes. Starting out, you tend to go through a lot of propellers.

5. Carbon Cub S - Another larger plane at 1.3 m wing with tricycle landing gear. Civilian scale plane so looks excellent in the air. SAFE mode is exclusive to Horizon Hobby, as is “Sensor Assisted Flight Envelope) technology that helps to prevent over-control, loss of orientation, and crashes so nearly everyone can learn to fly successfully” .

6. Air Titan 1600mm (63”) Large wingspan at 63 inches (1.6 meters). All around nice plane to fly and grow into. Stable in the air and easily repairable.

Conclusion - You cannot go wrong with any of these planes, so it comes down to some of the unique features they offer. Also, what looks good to you, and what are you going to be excited to pilot. If you have a local hobby shop, what brands, models they stock to get replacement parts quickly can be critical. I have made many stops on the way home from the field to pick up or order replacement parts.

Disclaimer - None of these links are affiliate links. Links are only included for your convenience; I have no association with the vendors linked. Thanks

John Hayes 9/20/20 John Hayes 9/20/20

Improve Your New Pilot RC Plane Orientation with This Practical Tip

Losing Orientation
Which way is it flying? The new pilot panic set in. Unfortunately, it was flying away and was quickly going to be out of range. I helplessly watched it disappear into the setting sun. I had misjudged the direction my RC plane was flying. I turned the plane away from me instead of towards the landing strip. In less than 30 seconds, it was gone.

I Had Lost Orientation
The definition of orientation, according to NASA is:
"Since we live in a three-dimensional world, it is necessary to control the attitude or orientation of a flying aircraft in all three dimensions. In-flight, any aircraft will rotate about its center of gravity, a point which is the average location of the mass of the aircraft. We can define a three-dimensional coordinate system through the center of gravity with each axis of this coordinate system perpendicular to the other two axes. We can then define the orientation of the aircraft by the amount of rotation of the parts of the aircraft along these principal axes."

Simply the orientation is the plane's direction, pitch, and which way it's flying. As a beginner, I haven't built the muscle memory to know which way to turn the plane. Also, as a beginner, I tend to fly at a safer, higher altitude. The "2 mistakes high" altitude. This helps with crashing and puts the distance between you and your plane at a dangerous edge of losing radio contact. With this higher altitude and increased distance from your plane to the transmitter, you don't have much time to correct before the plane quickly gets out of contact.

Why do I have a hard time with orientation?

With a dark underside, I can't always tell which way the plane is turning. And my muscle memory isn't there to instinctively turn the plane in the correct direction without thinking. Since I enjoy warbirds, their typical darker plane underbelly and the sky are not a good combination for me. My P39 with a gray underbelly and F8F-1 Bearcat blue underbelly are troublesome.

How did I Improve my Orientation with a Quick Fix?

I painted the wingtips yellow to help with seeing the orientation of the plane. I use yellow as that seems to be an excellent color for me to quickly identify the plane's direction. I haven't lost a plane since. I use Rust-Oleum spray paint and mask off with Frogtape brand tape. This tape is highly recommended across the hobby to provide clean lines and not pull off the existing paint.

Other Ideas
If you don't want to paint, you could try a distinctive decal with bright complimentary colors. That will help if you're going to stay "scale." As a beginner, I am more interested in leaving the field with my plane vs. "being strictly scale". The choice is yours.

This was just a practical tip to help improve your RC flying. What advice do you use to help with the view of your plane in flight?