Too cool...
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2504299









She needs A LOT of battery: Can run 2 6C or 8C(!!!) 4000-5000mah cells, spooling twin 80mm 12 blade EDFs juiced via 80 Amp ESCs. Even then, she'll only make between 4 and 5 minutes of flight time. She also needs an 8 amp UBEC to run all the onboard kit (servos, lights, rx)

Wow, that looks fantastic.

I'm sorry, but did that THING just raise it's landing gear?

Me want!!

...and the wings pivot! Nice.

What is that, 1:18 or 1:16 scale?

EDIT: Whoa. 1:8.3

Unbelievable what you can get "ready to fly" today... very impressive.

Already have the wife's permission to get this.

Not a beginners plane, a bad landing could really mess it up seriously

I remember 5-10 years ago discussions on RC Groups about whether or not swing wings on park flyers were possible, and the list of challenges associated with the change in CoG and flight characteristics would be challenging to deal with and address, if no catastrophic.

I wonder how it's addressed with this model.

edit - I guess this thing is pretty big and probably not a park flying, but my question still stands.

I guess styrofoam wings are lighter and less change of CoG for that...

Actually, there have been a few RC F-14's at a smaller scale than this in the RC world the past few years.

As with the full scale birds, computers help keep them flying where you point them

Most computerized RC Transmitters these days allow for various types of 'mixing', for example I can mix in a bit of left rudder with left aileron, for mono-coup esq corridated turns. I suspect much of the change in CG/CoL can be accounted for by using a typical flap mix, wherein up or down elevator trim is automatically dialed in when flaps are deployed.

Even my (now) entry level Spektrum DX6i, which sells for $130, allows the mixing types labeled above. (note, this turkey needs a 7 channel TX though, time to upgrade! )

BTW, the product page is now up, in case anyone is interested:
http://www.motionrc.com/freewing-f-14-tomcat-twin-80mm-edf-jet-pnp/

Less than $600 for a plane that only needs a RX and batteries. Mother of Christmas, when did the friggen future happen!?

BTW, I own a few foam warbirds, and IMO (these might be fightin' words) at less than giant scale (80"+ Wingspan), Foam looks better than wood framed and skinned. Smaller Wood frame birds look too smooth, especially on modern military jets. Foam molds allow for more details to be 'baked in'. On civilian planes though (eg. Extra 300), I'll take wood/monokote though.

I say that here, because I'm too scared to on RCG...

Good point about the mixing. My 10 year old Futaba 6EXA (yeah, that's right, I'm still on 72mhz) has mixing. I just don't ever use it.

Okay, I don't want to mess up a $600 plane... what's a good starter aircraft?

Something like this:

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__5...dy_To_Fly_.html

A good rule of thumb - the cooler the plane looks, the less appropriate it is for a beginner.

http://www.motionrc.com/freewing-a-6-intruder-80mm-edf-jet-pnp/







OK, in all seriousness, I'd go with the Hobby zone micro cub S:



http://www.horizonhobby.com/HBZ4400?KPID...mp;kpid=HBZ4400


It's very small, so finding enough room to fly is easy (baseball field will work nicely. It's RTF, so it includes battery, Charger, and Radio. Is has Horizons AS3X tech, which helps dampen the effects of wind, and it features their "SAFE" tech, which means that you can choose from a more docile flight mode that limits bank/pitch angles, or go for full on performance without the limits when you grow out of that. It also has "Panic recovery" that automatically returns the aircraft to level flight if you get disoriented.

And I think it looks pretty cool to boot. (Who doesn't love a cub?)

It's Foam, so it's easy to fix with Foam safe CA:http://www.advantagehobby.com/255881/DYNK0045/Foam-Safe-CA-1-ozActivator-2-oz-Combo-Pack/?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=product&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4ZOwBRDoxpjAvPXAl5MBEiQAEek_3rj52gFZZdnkZ-gEhtODsmVPiBrLjyoKS-YqXY4tpzQaAg0g8P8HAQ

finally, If you order from Horizon, you can stack the "FOAM" (expires 10/30) and "AG15SAVE" (Expires 9/30) at Horizonhobby.com, to get the price for the RTF version down to $107, which ships free. Toss in a spare battery (just one; once you get the hang of it time to shop for better batteries ), and some CA like I linked above (should have something similar at HH), and a spare prop. Should be good to go!

I can personally vouch for how awesome this little plane is. Wished this was an option when I started the Hobby.

Watched a bunch of vids on the Cub, looks pretty cool. Seems like a great intro to R/C plane.

Some good cautionary info on a few YouTube vids also.

FPV video capability!

If you are a newb get a trainer with a tri-cycle landing gear, less torque issues. If you already fly think in terms of the amount of room you have to make mistakes with a faster model and still recover it before you run out of time, space and ideas. A small park with limited open space might be better suited to a cub over a jet.

AS3X actually accounts for most of the torque induced forces on take off. She'll point straight with little to no rudder input when doing a rolling TO. Plus a plane this small is easy to hand launch, removing TO's from the equation. for the first few flights.

Also, Tri-gear planes require getting the rudder and nose wheel linkage properly aligned, else weird things happen when the wheel surrenders control authority to the rudder on take off.

in addition, IMO, Tail draggers are easier to land for a beginner, as you don't have to worry about coming down on the mains before the nose. In a TD, you either grease the landing, and you touch down on the mains, or flair a bit and do a 3-point landing. Come down too hard on the nose in a tri-gear plane, and risk damaging the nose wheel and/or steering linkage.

Finally, keep in mind, most RC planes directly lock the Tail wheel to the rudder, so it moves as the rudder moves. As a result, RC TD's are much easier to taxi than full scale TD's with free castoring tail wheels.

Bite your tongue, sir!!

Okay, okay, I'll go for a less-awesome plane.... but please give me something that's still cool.

I like the look of that Cub.

On conventional gear versus tricycles:



So do most manned aircraft. Pretty rare to see a free castoring tail wheel on anything but an ultralight.

If you're handy with an exacto knife you can build your own swing wing functioning F-14 from scratch for little more than the cost of the electronics:


http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=374502

I downloaded and printed all the plans and the build guide for his F-18 almost 10 years ago. Had a stack blue foam and everything. Unfortunately, I never got around to it. Ah... back in the days when I had time for that kind of stuff...

About 15 yrs ago I decided to move from EAW to real RC stuff and promptly destroyed my cheap eBay knock off. I decided I didn't want to invest my time or money in such a frustrating hobby and shelved the idea. I played with a few of the RC sims over the years and thought I would give it a go this year. That's where I found the aforementioned hobbyzone super cub s and decided to get it. I'm so glad I did. It is one of the most impressive technologies I purchased.

I started this spring on level 1 and got a hang on inverse control and progressed from there. After 60 plus flights I'm ready for my next plane. I can loop, roll, spiral down, "stall", fly upside down, land and take off with no trouble, and if it had any power I would be doing knife edges. In fact some guy hooked me up to his buddy box and I flew his 55in cub with no problems. He told me I did more in one flight then his buddy has done in two yrs of trying on his plane. The key is this little plane gave me the confidence to build my skills by myself. The SAFE button saved my investment numerous times as I was learning. On one flight i completely lost perspective and went into full fledged dive into the ground. Luckily I pulled SAFE button about 15 feet above the ground and the cub leveled out at 5 feet above the ground. Other times I wasn't quick enough and crashed into the ground, but it was my fault since I should have been 50 ft, not 20ft above ground. A little glue and tape got things working. It's been a great learning tool and I'm getting Phoenix simulator this year to refine my skills and jump to something more powerful next spring.

If you have wanted to try flying, buy the hobbyzone sport cub s or similar beginner plane with SAFE and stay two mistakes up (40-50 feet)

Advantages
Size ... Can fly in small parks and transport is easy 24" wingspan
Cost ... 129 ain't nothin
Multiple levels of control .. Keeps you out of trouble.
Lipo ... So much easier then glow plugs
FPV capable
SAFE ... Worth every penny

Disadvantages
Size ... You have to fly in calm weather ... Otherwise it gets tossed around but at level 1 the plane remains very steady in breezy conditions
Power ... It is small motor ... Can only do basic aerobatics
Durability ... It's foam ... Don't expect to survive heavy crashes

In 4 months I went from a complete newbie expecting another frustrating experience to a competent beginner looking to move on. I fear this is going to become an expensive hobby once I'm buying jets like this F14.

Glad to hear on all points Boxie!



The awesome thing about the UMX series of birds is there are a lot of excellent choices to pick from, even at this scale, that are very affordable. From scale warbirds to hair-raising 3D capable aerobats to screaming fan-jets, there's a lot of channels open (pun intended )

That said, if I were in your shoes, I'd pick up a Spektrum DX6 radio, so you can start playing with mixing and dual rates, as well as fly some of the models that don't come with a radio. Note, that while HH does still sell the DX6i for less (same radio I use), I'd just pay the extra money for a DX6 (which is the name of newer one...because some reason), as it's way more advanced. If money is really a pinch though, I'd consider the DXe, which uses your smartphone to program it for various models.

Plus, said radio can be used with Phoneix, or you can get This version of realflight 7:
http://www.realflight.com/products/gpmz4525.html

That'll see you happy for a long time

I built his F-18 as well, still have it but needs some repair. Haven't flown RC in a while now, but I still have a big bundle of bluecore

Wow, that is nice!

And thanks for putting a tape measure in the box so we can get scale.

That is a big friggin' plane!

TBH I learned to fly on a Cub and on a Gallopin Ghost system (http://www.singlestickstuff.com/the-history-of-the-single-stick/), once you master take-offs with a tail-dragger you'll never want anything else. [edit] in the old days we were fortunate if we had trim much less mixing

That F-14 is a beauty.

That's assuming a beginner will manage a proper take-off, wide circuit and approach
Those beauties are either shelves queens or experienced RC pilots toys, not much in between.

Cheers,
Slug