I think it may be better suited for aerial photography, because you can put the camera between the front two motors, and it should be inherently stable with the gyros.

• Tricopter
• Aeroquad

Heinz

• Arts hangar
• Small indoor projects perfect for twins
• Aeronuts uk
• some more ideas

Setp 23 ‘09 a Lethbridge Cub Scout troup attended the field with 3 leaders. Les was there to help answer questions and ensure safety  successfull demostration and aerobatic display was provided by Phil Heninger with 4 different gas powered planes including 25% Yak, 29% Ultimate, 35% Yak, 42% Extra 260. A great time was had by all during perfectly calm evening of flight.

Usually, the first questions model flyers are asked are: How much does it cost, and how far is the range of the plane?

The cost can range a fair bit depending on how much do you want to spend and how fancy an outfit you want. The three most basic parts would be A) the model plane itself, B) the engine and C) the radio equipment.

The Plane

To start with you will need to purchase a basic trainer plane and not your favorite WW II fighter with retractable landing gear! We all had to start somewhere and it was with a trainer, which is usually a high wing plane designed to be stable and fairly rugged. Models today will usually fit into two categories:
Kit form where you buy a kit and build it according to the included instructions and plans and the ARF (Almost ready to fly) version.
It used to be that the ARF’s were not always a good buy due to poor construction and materials but that vastly improved over the years and today a name brand ARF is made to very good standards. A typical ARF will only take a few evenings to complete whereas a kit will take considerably longer. The advantage to an ARF is that you will be in the air much quicker than building a kit, and that you will not have as much emotional attachment to your first plane if it happens to have an “oopsie.” The down side to an ARF is that your building skills and knowledge of how the place is constructed will be very limited if repairs are needed at some time. A kit will teach you much about the building and engineering of an R/C plane. Either way it is your personal preference. When you consider the cost of building and covering a model, some ARF’s are very appealing such as the SIG LT40. In kit form it is approximately $139.00 and in ARF form it is $199.00!

One more thing, bigger not only flies better, it is easier to see. A model starts to get pretty small in a hurry if you just let it fly away on it’s own.

The Engine

There are two types of engines, two strokes and four strokes. For a beginner, it would be easier to start with a two stroke, as they are easy to start and operate and have great power to weight ratio. As usual, you get what you pay for and if you can afford a little more it will most likely pay off in reliability and durability. OS, Irvine , Supertigre have had good reputations and are recommended. An engine for a trainer plane would cost you about $150.00

The Radio

This is where you can spend a lot of money very fast! Radio’s are categorized by how many channels they have (the more channels the more functions they can do) and if they are computerized or not. A computerized radio has many functions such as remembering settings for different airplanes, have built in timers and many more features that would be too lengthy to discuss here. If you plan to stay in the hobby and own more than one model then a computer radio would be a better choice though the initial cost is higher. A basic radio system will cost you about $250.00 and for a good computer radio about $350.00 and up. As far as range, your R/C plane will be out of sight before the range of the radio system is maxed out which is about a mile and a half.

Other Gear

There is support equipment that you will need, such as a glow starter (to get the engine going), fuel, propellers, paper towel and glass cleaner for clean up as well as other misc items. A great source of help is your local hobby shop and club members. As mentioned above, we all started somewhere and all received much help from those who have already learnt so do not be afraid to ask questions as there are plenty of folks willing to give advice and a lending hand.

Electric Flight

In recent years there has been an almost explosive growth in the field of model electric flight. With the invention of extremely light battery packs of high power capacity, micro electronics, highly efficient electric motors and speed controllers, electric flight has become easy and wide spread. It seems that nothing is holding back progress and aircraft which are light and small as well as large and powerful are readily available in the form of kits, and combinations that make it easy to get into this part of the hobby. Just search the internet for “electric flight” and you will see the possibilities.

Electric flight has some significant advantages over the traditional modes of flying model aircraft. The lack of noise, cleanliness and ease of operation are just some of them. The many forms of “park flyers ” have made it possible for anyone to fly cheaply and “wherever” . As a club however we feel that flying in parks in densely populated cities can be dangerous and is not condoned. MAAC, the governing body of model aeronautics in Canada also feels that it is a dangerous practice. Therefore we have a field that is available year round and you can enjoy the help and contact from other club members who also have the same interests. For more information please contact us.

Avoid this problem by flying at our field, and you will also get expert help. Those 16 and under are now free, but you must have your MAAC when flying at our field.

If you want some in depth information on how planes really fly, go here.

For information on training airplanes, visit Tower Hobbies.

For information on electric training airplanes, go here.