Futaba Owner

Hey I'm really interested in getting started in electrics including profiles etc... I'm just not quit sure to what it takes to get into that like what equipment and stuff. If anybody has a list of the necessary equipment and stuff to get started in electrics I'd love to take a look at it. Also an average cost would be cool to. Thanks for the help.

Futaba Owner

depfife

My Feedback: (14)

Lots of the guys here in the profile forum are into electrics, and I am sure they can provide you with some answers. You might also want to check out the electric forums. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/default.asp?forumid=227

RCU's sister forum, WattFlyer is another good place for electric info. http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/

fun_fly_3D

My Feedback: (1)

For an electric I would go with a foamy since they are durable and can be copied onto blue construction foam and cut out. I know guys that do this and they have gotton them down to 1 dollar per airframe. anyway, you will need the following with any electric:
1. Motor w/speed controller
2. micro reciever
3. 4 micro servos
4. at least 2 lithium batteries (keeping weight down is key with small electrics and lithiums also offer great flight time).

all this with an airplane will cost around 360 US dollars. (you will only pay this fee once. once you have the equipment, you have it for a long time. maybe have to buy a 5 dollar shaft and gears once in a while but..
http://www.fancyfoam.com/edge540.asp has an excellent deal on a plane, motor,esc,reciever, battery (I would buy at least 1 more battery though) for around 300 dollars. then before you assemble, trace everything onto blue construction foam from home depot, lowes, etc.. and if...When you crash you will have another airframe ready. feel free to PM me with any further questions.

JGlenney

My first Electric was a Zagi flying wing. Extremely durable and fun. Especially fun if you have other zagi's flying with you. Zagi's require two micro servos, a receiver and radio capable of being used on delta wings. For power they can be flown with brushed or brushless motors. I started with a speed 400 version with a 20 Amp brushed speed control. I made my own 8 cell Nickel Metal Hydride packs to keep my costs down. The speed 400 motor is cheap ~$10.00 but they do get worn out rather rapidly.
I switched to a brushless motor and speed control after about a year. A good choice is a Mega 16-15-5. This is much more fun and much faster. Switching to LiPo batteries also adds greatly to the performance. The only drawback to the zagi was limited aerobatics.

The next step I took was to go to a profile foamy. I happened to be in Billings for work a couple years ago and saw Clay from Abel R/C flying one of their Adrenaline Profile planes. He let me try it out and I was impressed. I got one that Christmas and man was I happy. It is powered by an AXI 2212-26 brushless motor and I use a Phoenix 25 A speed control with 1350mAh batteries. It's a foamy designed for outdoors. It can handle fairly stiff breezes and is very well built. Visit http://www.abellrc.com to see what they offer. Mine didn't have landing gear but I see this is an option now. I might have to buy a set and try out.

Hope this helps.

Futaba Owner

What you guys think would be a good fomie to start out with(3d capable)?

Futaba Owner

I liked the looks of the Adrenalin Fomies. Are they pretty good, JGlenney?

JGlenney

Yeah I really like it. My buddy bought one at the same time and loves his as well. I've also tried a Shock Flyer outside but I was less than impressed.

I'm getting not bad at hovering and love spins with the Adrenaline. I really think it was worth the investment. I do think it is a little big for indoor flying however. Perhaps not if you have a huge indoor area.