R/C Hobbies

[Honeymonster]

Anyone else in to R/C models

I'm currently infatuated with FPV after many years of flying R/C planes.

This is what the masters get up to in this genre:



It might be illegal apparently....

And if money was no object I'd be doing this:





Makes V8's sound puny :yum:

Anyone else into R/C hobbies or am I loner...

 

[ben]

I've always wanted to get an RC copter, then fly it from my roof - I'd just be worried I might lose control and have it drop down 14 floors ....

I did hear there is a tarmac racing circuit down by the river, but I've never found it...

 

[colin79666]

Yes into RC

I currently have one of these:

I had one of these Tamiya buggies (own vid):


And most recently I had and sold one of these HPIs (own vid):


Want to get back into electric RC cars/buggies as they weren't as much hassle as the nitro but they have become pretty expensive, probably due the exchange rate with the Yen.

 

[Freebo]

i just bought an R/C Lambo for £10 from Argos

 

[jip0]

i would like a proper R/C helicopter or plane but dont have the time or money to fit it in with my other hobbies.

Love watching videos on youtube that golden gate bridge one was amazing

 

[Bushboy]

I bought an RC plane once. Quite a big thing. 1.5 metre wingspan or so.

First flight, crashed it trying to land it and snapped the wing into 2 :bang:...

Bought a new wing and fit it. 2nd flight, plane went out of range and ended stuck in a tree about 60ft up. :bang: Ended up getting it down by throwing sticks at it. Another broken wing.

Gave up with it after that .. not quite sure where it is now. Mum's garage I expect.

 

[Ziggy122]

Ah yes i do love my offroadies

Im part of another forum - MSUK-forum

However due to funds - i've hardly done anything with them its expensive

Anyway - i didnt treat em nicely

hence car no2 off the ramp is ME!



Ziggy

 

[Honeymonster]

i would like a proper R/C helicopter or plane but don't have the time or money to fit it in with my other hobbies.

Love watching videos on you tube that golden gate bridge one was amazing

Yeah Team Black Sheep videos are awesome but of course it's not legal to fly an R/C plane out of line of sight. A relatively new hobby (2 or 3 years old) FPV is currently under a lot of scrutiny due to

1. People flying out of site (even though you have a video camera on the plane you see through obviously.

2. People using illegal radio frequencies and higher than legal wattages because they travel better.

3. Danger to the public from unmanned planes and also privacy concerns regarding the arial video.

Of course must of these planes have return to home systems meaning if the radio gets interrupted they will fly home from GPS. A relatively cheap and simple option starting at about £70 which also gives you tons of information via an OSD.

FPV really falls into 2 categories now, those who fly as far as they can and those who fly where ever they can LOL.

Multi copters are also extremely popular for FPV and this technology similar to military and Police drones is really booming and improves every day.

Some more awesome Black Sheep Videos:





Another of my favourite disciplines is 3d

I bought an RC plane once. Quite a big thing. 1.5
meter wingspan or so

First flight, crashed it trying to land it and snapped
the wing into 2

...

Bought a new wing and fit it. 2nd flight, plane went out of range and ended stuck in a tree about 60ft up.

Ended up getting it down by throwing sticks at it. Another broken
wing.

Gave up with it after that

.. not quite sure where it is now. Mum's garage I expect

Thankfully we now have sims which allow you to plug your transmitter into your computer and practice.

I have smashed many hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of virtual planes to get my flying to a decent standard.

Luckily the Chinese have also made the hobby very affordable with decent quality products available very cheaply, especially on the electric side of the hobby.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/index.rc

Probably the best range of models in the world.

Also I'm a fun of R/C Drifting and Rock crawling. there are some simply awesome videos on you tube. :slayer:

 

[ysidfa]

I've been into Tamiya RC cars for years,
Got a Tamiya MO3 Rover mini and a Brushless spec TT01e with a 4Turn brushless motor running about 68k RPM, will happily do about 60mph on a good straight run, but Due to being old fashioned, Im still running 27mhz so I have a range of about 15 meters, 2.4ghz would be better

 

[colin79666]

All this talk of RC has gotten me back into it again.

Just bought a Tamiya Lunchbox kit

 

[ysidfa]

All this talk of RC has gotten me back into it again.

Just bought a Tamiya Lunchbox kit

all 10 posts
If you want a upgrade motor, then drop me a PM, Ive got a LRP GT4 17t brushed 540 sized motor and lipo compatible 12 turn ESC to go with it, good for getting a Lunchbox on its back wheels for a 10 meters

Where did you get it from btw?

 

[Honeymonster]

All this talk of RC has gotten me back into it again.

Just bought a Tamiya Lunchbox kit

Awesome an absolute classic model (re-released a few years back IIRC):



I remeber this, the Clodbuster, the Hornet and the Grasshoper well as a kid. Well out of my price range at that age I had a Tandy (remenber that shop ) Super Beetle.

My mate hade the Hornet though (rich b******d) in those days battery technology was a joke. The best rechargeable AA's were only 800mah Nicads and lasted about 4 minutes at best LOL.

Alkalines were better (1.5v instead of 1.2v) but only lasted a bit longer. The batteries made it an expensive hobby.

Later on I moved on to racing at a local club and saved all my paper round money and bought a Shumacher Cougar 2 Works. That was awesome, still brushed motors and Nicads though. You had a choice of Sanyo batteries to be competitive. SCR, SCE, SCRC IIRC all with different qualities.

Lipos and brushless has blown the door wide open these days, power is of the scales and on par if not better than glow powered models without the hastle.

It's brought planes and copters a whole new lease of life. Micro sized helicopters that flew around your lounge just wern't possible.

I still have a Hobao Monster Pirate 1/8th scale Monster truck burried in my garage somewhere. There are no model shops here anymore and no one sells the glow fuel suitable for cars and trucks anymore (just planes).

You can't oder it online either, I could convert it to petrol with a cdi and spark plug system I guess (I did this to a glow plane with a kit from Just Engines) but it would be well down on power and bulky with all the extra equipment.

The original Tamya Beach Buggy is worth an absolute fortune now, I saw one go on ebay recently for crazy money.

Anyway I hope you're going to do a build thread on the Lunch Box. LOL

 

[306maxi]

I've got a barely used Losi xx-Cr kinwald edition with a spiffy 14x3 motor in it. It's back in Australia though

 

[Hellcat]

I've a HPI RS4 Rally in the cupboard behind me..

Correction. I now have a HPI RS4 Rally on my knee

15 turn Ansmann Clash. m-sonik Tempo speed controller. Shocks modified for lower ground clearance. Almost exclusively raced on carpet for one season. Not sure what to do with it.

 

[colin79666]

Where did you get it from btw?

Time Tunnel Models - went in person to their unit as it isn't too far from me.

Half built now, should have everything but the shell sorted tomorrow

 

[Ziggy122]

i have 3
Hobao hyper 7 TQ - its old - needs money and more fuel lol

A Traxxas Rustler VXL - its a handful
Lipo brushless is ONLY way to go when it comes to electric

A now shelf queened HPI rush evo (sigh) was a good car

Ziggy

 

[ben]

I always wanted a Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin when I was little.

Then when a bit older, I switched to wanting the Traxxas Nitro Sport (Hawk?) - never got it though.

Whats the current consensus on the best way of power, electric or nitro?

 

[ysidfa]

I always wanted a Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin when I was little.

Then when a bit older, I switched to wanting the Traxxas Nitro Sport (Hawk?) - never got it though.

Whats the current consensus on the best way of power, electric or nitro?

Electric definitely. You can get a Tamiya XB kit for less than £100 then spend another £150 on a transmitter/reciever combo, low turn brushed or Brushless with ESC, a couple of lipos, a variable charger and servos. £250 for something that will out perform a £600 stock Nitro

 

[ben]

What about charging times though? Do batteries still only last 15 mins or so?

It's gonna be easier to carry a big bottle of gas than hundreds of batteries?

 

[ysidfa]

A decent lipo with a high MaH rating can give you half an hour, or you spend £100 on a LIFE battery that would give you 45-60 mins of play
Nitro is more convenient, but electric is far simpler and more fun