A noobs view of the Ft Racer

by scottieRAWRR | October 14, 2013 | (0) Posted in Projects

SOOOO, i have just finished  building my FT racer.

I am a complete noob at rc planes, had never flown one before this morning.

The build process of the plane was even easier than i could have hoped it to be. follwing the video was a breeze and the final product turned out great.

So how did i go at flying it? 

After quite a while on a simulator i rounded up the courage to take it out the back and give it a go, The first launch didnt go so well and saw me touch down about 2 meters infront of myself after a toss that was much too shallow. 

The second attempt was much more sucessfull. A steeper launch angle and she was off. After that it was an apsolute piece of cake. No trimming was needed for my plane, it flys perfectly straight hands off on zero trims wich makes flying it stress free. 

i have 30% expo dialed in and it is very forgiving and an allroud friendly plane to fly.

so at the time of writing this i have put 6 batteries through the plane without incident after having only ever flown a simulator before this morning,

Just goes to show how valuble a good simulator is to any new pilots efforts.

i could not be happier with the way the plane has turned out. It looks good and flys great. And best of all i am now into the hobby and have conqured my first flight, 

Thanks flite test for an awesome machine. 

 

Specs: Motor: turnigy 2826-1400kv

               ESC: turnigy 40 amp plush

              RX: spectrum ar6210 (came with my transmitter so i used it)

              batteries Turngy 2200mah 3s.

             flight time currently- 8 minutes (1200mah used according to charger.)

 

EDIT: added photos of battery compartment.

 

- Find this article & others like it at www.FliteTest.com -

COMMENTS

fjnagle2nd on October 15, 2013
I am building the same plane for my grandson and son-in-law for Christmas. Will be done in movie color scheme. I was wondering if you would care to share you setup. I noticed you have what looks like a DX6i same as I have. Have been trying to get the Josh's to do a video on the transmitter settings for this and the other swappables, at least for the DX6i. Would really appreciate the help, am new to this hobby as well.....
Log In to reply
scottieRAWRR on October 15, 2013
Hi Fjnagle.

i will put all settings for my DX6i below HOWEVER i strongly recomend seeking advice from someone other than myself. I have a grand total of 9 flights experience and my setup is almost certainly not optimal.
with that said my settings are as follows.

D/R&EXPO
- aile-0- 100% + 20%
- elev-0- 90% + 30%
-rudd-0- 100% + 30%

- aile-1- 100% + 10%
- elev-1- 100% + 10%
-rudd-1- 100% + 10%

NOTE: i have not tried high rates yet,

TRAVEL ADJ- all 100%

SUB TRIM- all zero

FlAPS-
NORM- FLAP-0 ELEV-0
LAND- FLAP-30 ELEV-10

NOTE: i am using a AR6210 rx with Aileron servos pluged into the Aileron plug and aux 1 plug to allow flapperons.

MIX1-MIX2- both not used,

DIFFERENTIAL- not used.

SETUP LIST.

MODEL TYPE- ACRO

MODEL NAME- RACER

REVERSE- Rudder reversed.

THRO CUT- INH

WING TAIL MIX- DUALAILE - ACT
- V-TAIL -INH
-ELEVON -INH

D/R COMBI- INH

TIMER- DOWN TIMER- 8:00
SWITCH-TRAINER

RANGE CHECK- INH

POWER SETTING - A-EU 328
note: No idea what above means. lol thats just how it was,

MODULATION TYPE-AUTO

Hope this helps but again i advise u check with an experienced pilot.
I would hate to see you crash your plane because i told you to do it wrong.
Good luck

Cheers
Scottie



Log In to reply
fjnagle2nd on October 16, 2013
thanks for the reply and info! Gives me a great starting place with my setup! Also the info for the channel assignments is also appreciated greatly. Got the wings on and the rudder and elevator on, servos mounted (no linkages yet.) Ready for application of construction paper deck and canopy. Found I am really rusty at this :)
Thanks again, Frank
Log In to reply
scottieRAWRR on October 16, 2013
No worries mate.
haha when i was building my wing i glued the spar to the wrong side. then had remove it and glue it back on the other side. and it still turned out great. so i wouldnt worrie too much about rustyness haha
Log In to reply
Jaxx on October 15, 2013
You did an awesome job! It's always great to hear these stories. I was in the same place just a few months ago. I love that motor. That's what I use on my Spitfire. You can't beat the performance at that price. What prop are you using?
Log In to reply
scottieRAWRR on October 15, 2013
Hi Jaxx.
Im using a 7x5 prop on this motor.
what do you use?


Log In to reply
Warbirds9 on October 15, 2013
Awesome to hear. I know most people crash their plane for the first time. The build looks awesome! Just a tip, don't run your batteries dry. If you eave 1-2 minutes left on them they will last much longer. (I am assuming this because you said you get 8 minutes out of a battery). Thanks for sharing. My favorites are the versa wing and the spitfire. They are awesome. Why did you decide to start off with the racer and not the ft flyer, nutball or delta?
Log In to reply
scottieRAWRR on October 15, 2013
Hi warbirds. The only reason I chose the racer was because iI'm a big fan of the air racing series and plan on putting a racing livery on it. So apart from that there was really no logic in choosing it first. Maybe it was even a little irresponsible to start with it. But thankfully it turned out ok. A happy accident as the guys would say. As for the batteries my charger says I'm putting 1200 mah back into a 2200 mah battery after an 8 minute flight. Is that too much? Thanks for your comment and feed back :)

Cheers
Scottie
Log In to reply
Jaxx on October 16, 2013
Actually, 1200mAh is fine. Using 1200mAh of 2200mAh is only about 55% of the battery's capacity. To get the longest life out of your battery, you don't want to discharge more than 80% of its capacity, which in this case would be about 1700mAh. Since I don't usually fly aggressively (only short bursts), I fly on my 2200mAh battery for about 10 minutes. Of course flight time will vary when we consider factors such as wind, flying style, etc.
Log In to reply
scottieRAWRR on October 16, 2013
ok kool.
i usually dont use full throttle either as my flying field is a bit on the small side so 3/4 throttle seems to be good speed.
Thanks for the information on the batteries, thats very helpfull. :)


Log In to reply
Jaxx on October 16, 2013
I'm actually using an 8x6 on a 3S 2200mAh. Please note though, this prop pushes the limits of the motor when I open up the throttle on a fresh charge. To avoid burning up the motor, I don't fly at full throttle (only in short bursts) until the battery voltage starts to come down. When the voltage starts to drop the RPM at wide-open-throttle drops as well, so the motor doesn't work as hard. This motor does an excellent job powering these planes, and they move pretty fast when it is combined with the 8x6 prop. The only problem I have with this motor is, the shafts seem to bend easily. Otherwise, great motor!
Log In to reply
sailorJohn on October 17, 2013
Need to watch FT's beginner series for choosing right plane!
Log In to reply

You need to log-in to comment on articles.

scottieRAWRR

(24)

A noobs view of the Ft Racer