Help, Tips & FAQs

This page is mainly intended for newcomers to the hobby, but established members should find a few items of use as well.

Club members are invited to submit anything they think would be helpful to the following email address for inclusion on this page but please do not send items copied from other websites. Copyright material will not be included on this website for legal reasons:

mail@frmc.org.uk

Click here to read the club rules

For information on 2.4 GHz radio control systems, please click HERE.

Help

Tips

FAQs -

Do I need to be insured to fly a model aeroplane?

Is there a compulsary test to pass like a driving test?

What is a good first model aeroplane to buy?

Which aeroplane engine should I buy?

What is a good first model helicopter to buy?

Which helicopter engine should I buy?

What about electric flight?

Which radio should I buy?

What do the frequency numbers mean?

What gyro should I buy?

Do I need a governor?

Should I buy new or second hand gear?

Should I buy a simulator?

Help

If you are a newcomer to the hobby, you may be a little daunted by the sheer range of products on offer but there are three pieces of advice to follow, to ensure your greatest chance of success:

1) Get advice from your local club before you spend any money

2) Don't try and fly on your own, join your local club

3) Be safe, be insured.

This applies anywhere in the country but in this area, we are happy to advise newcomers and to teach them. If you join the Forest Radio Model Club, we will set up your model and do our best to see that you make progress in this most rewarding and challenging hobby.

Please refer to the contact page if you wish to get in touch, or to pay us a visit please refer to the map page.

Tips

TBC

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) Do I need to be insured to fly a model aeroplane?

A) You would be very in-prudent to fly anywhere without insurance. Everyone who flys at our site must be insured and 3rd party liability insurance is arranged through the British Model Flying Association for everyone who joins our club. For details and FAQs relating to the BMFA insurance scheme follow this link: BMFA Insurance.

Q) Is there a compulsary test to pass like a driving test?

A) No. The BMFA operates a test and certification scheme but this is voluntary unless you wish to perform as a display pilot. Please refer to the BMFA website for full details. With regard to our club, we do not allow novice fliers to fly solo until we judge that they are competent to do so safely. We have a very informal assessment procedure when a novice is ready to go solo which involves observation by the designated official of a complete flight including start-up, take-off, a simple left hand circuit, right hand circuit and a landing.

In the event that you wish to progress through the BMFA certification scheme, we have two qualified examiners in the club who can deal with your requirements.

Q) What is a good first model aeroplane to buy?

A) Many people who come to this hobby want to fly a Spitfire, a fast jet or a scale masterpiece. Naturally, people are attracted to the more glamourous models available. Unfortunately, these are almost always the hardest models to fly, the least forgiving of any abuse and often the most expensive.

We cannot stress strongly enough that newcomers to the hobby should take a sensible approach and start off with a competent trainer. There are very few poor models on the market these days, but in our experience newcomers never regret buying either the Thunder Tiger trainer, the Ripmax trainer or the Hangar 9 Easy Fly. There are various sizes for some of these trainers and we recommend the 40 size version in each case.

All of these trainers are Almost Ready To Fly (ARTF). Not so many years ago, people had to build their models and cover them but few people do so these days. An ARTF model is one where all of the hard work is done for you. The body and wings are built and covered. All you have to do is glue the various finished assemblies together, fit the engine and radio and you're ready to fly. You can expect most ARTF models to take a week of evenings to complete.

Q) Which aeroplane engine should I buy?

A) Assuming you are considering one of the above aeroplanes, all state an engine size range of around 0.40 to 0.46. The sizes refer to the imperial measurement system of cubic inches, a 40 size engine being 0.40 of a cubic inch in swept cylinder volume (roughly 6.5cc). We would always recommend an engine at the higher end of the scale rather than the lower end as you can always throttle back, but you can't easily solve the problem of an under-powered model.

With regard to the brand of engine, there are very few bad engines on the market these days. There is little doubt that O.S engines are the cream of the crop, but you will pay at least twice as much for one as an equivalent S.C engine that will give perfectly good service.

Q) What is a good first model helicopter to buy?

A) Helicopters are more challenging to master than aeroplanes, but with good tuition there is no reason why you should break a helicopter at all. Nevertheless, a helicopter contains many more moving parts than an aeroplane and is a much higher maintenance machine. With this in mind, a good model helicopter to learn on is one with readily available parts.

In common with aeroplanes, newcomers to the hobby should take a sensible approach and start off with a competent trainer rather than a complex scale model. In our experience newcomers never regret buying either the Thunder Tiger Raptor 30 or the Hirobo Sceadu 30. If your budget will stretch, it may pay you to go for the 50 size model in each case because 50 size models can be set up to fly like 30 size models, but they will have the potential to allow you to progress in the future without having to upgrade the model. All that requires changing is the set up to unleash the extra power.

Q) Which helicopter engine should I buy?

A) Both of the above helicopters can take a range of engines. Again, we would recommend more power rather than less because it will give you more flexibility in the future as the machine will have a lot more capability to perform aerobatic stunts.

With regard to the brand of engine, a helicopter is rather more dependent on a quality power plant than an aeroplane. A good engine can make a helicopter tame, a poor engine will turn it into an animal. With this in mind, we recommend nothing other than O.S engines for helicopters.

Q) What about electric flight?

A) The hobby is currently going through a revolution brought about by the concurrent innovations in battery and motor technology. As recently as three years ago, electric flight was dominated by underpowered models running for just a few minutes per flight on brushed motors and heavy nickel cadmium batteries. In recent years the market has been deluged with brushless motors of incredible power and efficiency. In conjunction with lightweight Lithium Polymer batteries (LiPo) providing incredible power and duration, the modelling scene is changing. Any model that previously could only be powered by an internal combustion engine can now be powered electrically and with even higher performance. The only downside is that these are still relatively new technologies and as such are not cheap.

For lowest expenditure and best value for money, we are of the opinion that i.c. engine powered models still give the best bang for your buck. In terms of training aeroplanes, you can power any of the trainers listed above with electric power trains. In terms of training helicopters, there are deals available but we would recommend against trying to learn to fly with any of the 400 size models such as the Zoom 400, T-Rex 450 or Shogun type. They are marvels of technology and highly capable machines for an experienced pilot, but from a novice's point of view they are twitchy, fiddly to repair, hard to see, unforgiving in the wind and less durable due to the smaller components.

For further advice on electric powered aircraft, please refer to the shop websites from the links page.

Q) Which radio should I buy?

A) You can spend an awful lot of money on radio gear for bells and whistles that you will never use. A good budget set of radio gear will allow you to progress a long way in the hobby before you would ever need to upgrade to something more capable.

We would recommend that you buy either Futaba or J.R radio gear because most of the instructors in the club use these brands and will therefore be able to connect their transmitter to yours for instruction. This is called the buddy-box system and we do not teach by any other method as it is by far the safest method of teaching.

Our two main recommendations would be the Futaba FF7 as the best value transmitter on the market and the J.R PCM 9XII as the easiest to use. The Futaba is feature packed for both aeroplane and helicopter flying but a little more obscure to program than the J.R. The J.R is the cream of the crop but considerably more expensive. Nevertheless it is so intuitive to use that no-one ever regrets buying one.

Q) What do the frequency numbers mean?

A) In the U.K. we are legally allowed to use radio gear transmitting on the 27MHz , 35 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands for the control of model aircraft.

The 27 MHz band is not regarded as a safe band because ground based models such as cars and boats also use it and so only very small, cheap and lightweight park fly type models use 27 MHz radio gear.

Radio gear using the 2.4 GHz band is relatively new in the U.K. It has lots of very desirable features and is almost certainly the future of model radio gear. For more information please click HERE.

The majority of radios currently in use are on the 35 MHz band and when you buy such a set of radio gear, it will often come with crystals (small plug in units that set the radio frequency of the transmitter and receiver). The crystals are usually marked with a number between 55 and 90 and the following chart shows what these numbers refer to:

Frequency chart

For example, if your crystals are marked 70, they are broadcasting and receiving at 35.100 MHz.

The reason this is important is that two models on the same frequency cannot fly at the same time. We use a peg-board system to ensure that people do not accidentally switch on at the same time as someone else on the same frequency. We also generally try to avoid flying at the same time as someone on an adjacent fequency as there is sometimes a little interference between such close frequencies. Also, the Forest Radio Model Club operates a policy whereby newcomers are asked to buy crystals on a spare channel so as not to inconvenience established flyers who already have a frequency. Sometimes members have to share a frequency but we try to avoid it as much as possible.

Q) Which gyro should I buy?

A) Don't be fooled into buying the most expensive gyro you can. A novice does not need a £300.00 competition level gyro because many of it's features will go unused and it can actually hinder mastery of the yaw control. A basic solid state gyro under £80.00 with a reasonably fast servo will be more than adequate for a first helicopter.

Q) Do I need a governor?

A) Not unless you are flying harsh 3D maneuvers. A governor is just another added complexity to a novice.

Q) Should I buy new or second hand gear?

A) If your budget will stretch, we would advise you to buy new products. As with any products, there is risk involved in buying secondhand items. There are some bargains to be had, but there are also many unscrupulous sellers around. Generally, damage to aeroplanes is visible under close scrutiny. Even good repairs tend to show up under the covering or inside the model. Damage to helicopters is much harder to spot. For example a main shaft or feathering spindle which has been bent in a crash will not be visible to the naked eye, but the helicopter will vibrate dangerously when flown in this condition. When buying second hand models, try and get the seller to demonstrate the model. If you can see it flying safely, you at least know that it is a runner and not completely defective.

With radio gear in particular, it would probably be best to avoid second hand items unless you know the seller and know the history of the item. To most modellers, radio gear is a series of mysterious black boxes. You cannot see what is inside them and you cannot see if there is crash damage inside the casings. Defective radio gear can even appear to work perfectly well on the ground but once in the air with vibration from the engine and some distance away from the transmitter it can all go horribly wrong. Buyer beware!

Q) Should I buy a simulator?

A) Yes. In simple terms, a simulator is an advanced computer game which is controlled from a radio transmitter thereby replicating the feel and behaviour of a model aircraft. A simulator is probably less beneficial to a novice aeroplane flyer than a novice helicopter flyer. For a novice helicopter flyer it is strongly recommended that you buy a simulator because helicopters require the constant co-ordination of four controls at the same time. Most of the current simulators like Reflex XTR and Realflight are particularly good at simulating a realistic hovering helicopter and they definitely help accelerate the learning of four control co-ordination.

Novice aeroplane flyers can get away with co-ordinating two controls for most of a flight and so a simulator is of less use than actually going to a club and flying on a buddy lead where the instructor can stop you getting into trouble. Simulators are of considerable use to more advanced aeroplane pilots who want to try aerobatic maneouvres on a simulator before trying them for real.

Simulators are a great idea if you have a powerful enough PC to run them. In our experience, the minimum system requirements given for some of the simulators are rather optimistic. If the computer cannot cope with the simulator it will at best fail to give a realistic feel and at worst not run at all. Also, beware of buying a simulator if you intend to run it on a laptop or PC with an integrated graphics chip on the motherboard because some simulators do not support the use of shared system memory used by these chips.