AerodromeRC Forum - Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome

Inept Mechanic

Ex Member

Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Jan 17^th, 2009, 2:43pm

Hello Folks,I'm new to scale modeling.
My name is Russ and I am 47 years old.
I stumbled on to your site just by chance while doing some research into my grand fathers past.I'll get into that later..I'm sure many of you folks are more than just modelers but also WW1 enthusiasts and have historical interests as well.Most interesting background about my grand father.
At first I was thinking about making a gas fired model but after looking into that thought,I decided not to get in over my head.
I'm going to need all your help in deciding which model should be my first attempt at electric scale models.
I have had my eye on the Supermarine Sparrow I 36".
It says It's a beginners build and from what i have read is a good trainer for the novice Aviator..lol..that would be me..Lol. Roll Eyes

To be honest, I'm more interested in building this plane than flying it because i plan on putting my heart and soul into it and would be devistated if i flew it into a tree or worse. Cry

..lol..Which i'm sure will only happen in good time.
So what do you think,go with the Sparrow and get to building this bird?
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
I wish you all well and look forward to picking the minds of some of the most remarkable model builders around.
From your newest green horn on the flight deck...The Inept Mechanic..Russ..Says hello.

P.S. here's a teaser photo of my grand dad. dated 1912. Germany.
This is his first plane built by him and a friend.He was a self tought Mechanic,Engineer,and Aviator with no formal education.
Enjoy!

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Bengtson

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Designing on the edge

Posts: 2405
Monterey CA

Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #1 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 4:16pm

Hi Russ,
Welcome to the AerodromeRC discussion forum! You are correct, there are many top class model builders that participate. We are very fortunate to have such a distinguished group of people.
Your grandfather must have been an incredible person to design and build and fly such an aircraft. I imagine his story is fascinating. I would certainly welcome an article about his life in aviation for our webzine.

On the modeling front, I think that you indicated that you are new to building. If this is the case, then the beginner models are best of what we offer. The Sparrow I is a personal favorite and for some reason not often modeled. It certainly would be a nice subject as a first build. If you plan to build for display at first, which is an excellent idea, you could choose the SPAD VII EZ, Bristol Scout or Pfalz EI EZ.

Getting up to speed on building takes some time, expect to have some goofs and remember help is available here. We all learned our crafts partly by others showing what they had learned.

Kay

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"No, they are not toys, they are flying works of art!"

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vonJaerschky

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The Hun In The Sun
Posts: 1048
Comox, BC, Canada

Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #2 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 4:33pm

Welcome to the forum Russ. Your Grandfather's history sounds very intersting. You are right - a lot of us are amateur historians who find that aspect as fascinating as the models. It seems you are new to modelling. If you have never flown an R/C model before, I might suggest that you buy something intended to train you how to fly first. These airplanes are usually cheap, ugly, and made of foam. But most importantly they are tough and will survive crashes. And you will have crashes. A built up balsa model is usually not so forgiving to mishaps! By all means enjoy building one of Kay's many excellent designs, but it's better to smash up a piece of foam in which you have invested no time and labour, rather than smash up your pride and joy.

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From the Manual of Air Traffic Control: "Seperation is that condition which exists when two or more aircraft fail to collide."

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Inept Mechanic

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Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #3 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 6:04pm

Hey guys ,Thanks so much for the warm welcome.
Kay,you have given me some more options which is great!
Now i'm begining to gravitate to the Bristol Scout.
On second thought maybe its best to stick with the Pfalz EI 36" ez.
It has the least amount of parts and is in reality my grand dads first plane.So be it... the Pfalz EI ez will be my first attempt at modeling.
VonJaerschky,your advice is well taken.If you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of an ugly CRASH KIT that would be great as well.
Off subject Grand dad was a remarkable man and had some guts getting into those planes.Here he is with one of his mechanic's.
Grand dad is on the left in his flight suit!

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Bengtson Board Moderator Offline Designing on the edge Posts: 2405 Monterey CA	Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome Reply #4 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 6:18pm Also check out our webzines on the AerodromeRC site. They are free downloads and have many building ideas and tips. Kay P.S. These photos are fascinating!
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Karsten Wallis Full Member Offline I Love Scale Modeling! Posts: 33 Northeastern, PA	Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome Reply #5 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 7:10pm If I would suggest to someone what plane to learn how to fly on it would be the Hobbyzone Supercub. It is tough, and parts are easy to get. Also pretty cheap too. I bought one 2-3years ago have crashed it twice and still flies like the day I got it. My two cents.
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Desert Flyer

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Posts: 466
Palm Desert, California

Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #6 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 9:05pm

Welcome Russ: Your doing the right thing by sticking with this forum. You will get all your questions answered (non are too dumb) and some really great advice and inspiration. So many really qualified craftsman in this group. Yes, you diffinately need a good training model to learn to fly and hopefully a local instructor that can help you.
I going to suggest a new model from Hobby Lobby called the Wing Dragon. Its an RTF - ready to fly, comes with radio system installed. A 2.5 Ghz system which is the latest technology in RC systems. R/E only - means Rudder and Elevator control - which is what you will have on both the Sparrow and Pfalz, so should be an easy transition.
Check out Hobbylobby.com - click on Ready to Fly. No, I don't work for HL. Just thought it looks like a good deal. As Frank suggested, If you fly, you crash, never fall in love with you model. Later, with experience, you crash less often. But its still the worlds greatest hobby. Welcome----Bert

Forgot to say there are some really great and famous RC fliers/designors and RC clubs on Long Island - join one.

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vonJaerschky

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The Hun In The Sun
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Comox, BC, Canada

Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #7 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 9:56pm

Quote:

If you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of an ugly CRASH KIT that would be great as well.

Here's another one:
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/easystar.htm I actually taught my 9 year old son to fly one of these. These airplanes really do almost fly themselves, and they are very tough. If you do break something, a bit of 5 minute epoxy or regular CA and you're back in business.

Those pictures of your grandfather are fantastisch! Do you have more? My uncle flew FW-190's during the war. He was shot down as a young 18 year old pilot on his second mission, captured by the Americans, and sent to a POW camp in Arizona.

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From the Manual of Air Traffic Control: "Seperation is that condition which exists when two or more aircraft fail to collide."

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IronFlyer Full Member Offline out of the sun Posts: 31 W. Mass.	Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome Reply #8 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 11:01pm Welcome to the forum Russ and thanks for sharing the pictures of your Grandfather and some of his work. Kay is right, you'll have to tell us the story since it's started. You'll find this forum a resource of great talent and help, simply by asking. Paul
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Inept Mechanic

Ex Member

Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #9 - Jan 17^th, 2009, 11:33pm

Ok..I just bought the PFalz EI 36" ez.This is going to be great.
Man am i psyched..
Bert,your comment about "NEVER Fall in love with your model" is classic.I'm going to add that quote to my avatar statement as soon as i figure out how to do it... Wink

Now i've been looking at the trainers you folks have mentioned and wonder.Some offer the whole package controler or transmitter etc.
Should i buy a seperate controler that not only can control the trainer but down the road be usefull in future projects.Would that be the prudent thing to do or just go with the package deal and go from there?Would the transmiter that comes with the trainers be compatable with the PFalz IE 36"?
Your thoughts.

Those pictures of your grandfather are fantastisch! Do you have more? My uncle flew FW-190's during the war. He was shot down as a young 18 year old pilot on his second mission, captured by the Americans, and sent to a POW camp in Arizona.

Oh...I sure do have plenty of them.
Here's is a photo of Two "PFalz EI" eindeckers one with skin the other without skin!
I wish i could figure out how to post more than one at a time but anyway here ya go..Enjoy!
Russ

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Bengtson

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Designing on the edge

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Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #10 - Jan 18^th, 2009, 12:14am

Great thread. One of the nicest first threads I have ever seen. The advise here is really good.

BTW, I love the photos. The last one is a Fokker EIII and it is actually covered. They experimented with a clear covering for camouflage purposes on a couple. I think that this is a very rare photograph. I'm sure the folks over on The Aerodrome would be drooling over these!

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/forum_index.php

Sadly our forum software can't post multiple images but you can post multiple links to images on other servers. We do require that any Copyrighted images not be posted. Links to them on other servers are OK.

I have a Pfalz EI in stock which is extremely rare, normally I have to order the wood from my laser cutter. I'll get the kit shipped on Tuesday.

Kay

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vonJaerschky

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The Hun In The Sun
Posts: 1048
Comox, BC, Canada

Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #11 - Jan 18^th, 2009, 12:32am

It looks like you are a treasure trove of rare photos. Awesome stuff to see for sure!

As far as the radio equipment goes, I would highly recommend (if your wallet permits) that you buy a seperate radio, and also I would highly recommend that it be on 2.4ghz. If you get a Spektrum 6ch radio, you will have more than enough radio for a few years to come, you will be insulated from the inteference and frequency congestions that 72mhz sets can be prone to, and you won't need to worry about where to put that darned long antenna that 72Mhz sets have. The Spektrum DX5e is a good entry level radio that will fly any of Kay's models, the DX6i is a good entry level computer radio, and the DX7 is a good computer radio that you will likely never outgrow. I have a DX7 and love it. Futaba makes 2.4Ghz systems too, but I don't have any hands on experience with them.

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From the Manual of Air Traffic Control: "Seperation is that condition which exists when two or more aircraft fail to collide."

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Pat Daily

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Biplanes are Best!
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Midlothian, Virginia, USA

Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #12 - Jan 18^th, 2009, 1:12am

Welcome Russ--great photos of your grandad. It would do him a great honor to model his airplane.

My Dad was at Chateau-Thierry with the American Army in the summer of 1918 when the Ludendorf offensive (last gasp attack to capture Paris before the American Army got too strong) started.. I think they got all the way to Metz when the Armistice stopped the fighting.

I have read about the "invisible" E-III Fokker, but that is the best photo I have ever seen of it.

Pat

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Inept Mechanic

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Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome
Reply #13 - Jan 18^th, 2009, 1:30am

Thank you so much for your feed back on radios.I'm glad im asking the right questions.
I looked at the Spektrum DX5e and that should fit my budget quite well.I noticed your store here at the Drome dose'nt sell radios so ii'll order one from the hobbylobby.

We do require that any Copyrighted images not be posted. Links to them on other servers are OK.

Not to worry Kay all of these photos are from "My family Albums".
I would never take credit from someone else's work or do such a thing.
In fact i should probebly get my photo's copyrighted.I do enjoy sharing them and most of all get a kick out of the responces from you guys. Shocked

Just for giggles i hope my first flight does'nt end up like this one or two.
Russ

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vonJaerschky Super Member Offline The Hun In The Sun Posts: 1048 Comox, BC, Canada	Re: Hello Everyone at the Aerodrome Reply #14 - Jan 18^th, 2009, 1:57am Looks like just another day at the flying field! A lot of WW1 models wind up in those positions, too!
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