Doc_Dyer

My Feedback: (4)

is there anyone out there who flies with Futaba?
just curious?

Bradley

mr_matt

My Feedback: (10)

I have flown 9ZAPS in jets for about 8 years, but I might be switching soon

sirrom

My Feedback: (4)

Bradley,
I fly futaba. When I was thinking of getting into jets I considered the 10x but compared side by side the 9z is a little more flexible. The only complaint I have is the 9th channel is simply on/off and it can not be mixed, but I can live with that. Most airplanes if you are at the point where you need more than 9channels then buy a matchbox or two or go to the Graupner 12 channel.


Of course you know this question comes up every once in awhile and it always results in a flame war.

Patrick.

Doc_Dyer

My Feedback: (4)

well im not trying to start a flame war.
I have flown fo 20 years an only flown Futaba never had a JR

I am just now getting into Jets and the majority of jet flyers it seems is JR?
just wanted to know if i needed to buy JR for only my Jets?
Would hate to be the new guy at the jet meets and already be black balled???

Thanks for the response.
Bradley

grbaker

My Feedback: (29)

6 one way......half a dozen the other

I flew ducted fans with Futaba with no problems or complaints. When I got my hands on a JMP F-4 kit I decided I would need at least 10 channels, so I switched to JR. As it turns out I never finished the F-4.

JMP F-4
1-aileron
2-elevator
3-throttle
4-rudder
5-retracts
6-flaps
7-inflight needle 1
8-inflight needle 2
9-wheel brake
10-drag chute

rhklenke

My Feedback: (24)

I fly my 'Roo on a Futaba 8U. If I ever change radios, it will be to a 9C, but for now, the 8U does fine and it I like it better than the equivalent JR radio for my helicopters - which I actually fly more often than the jets...

Bob

Mark Lamos

Hi,

I fly Futaba and have a 9Zwc2. I have found that I can do everything the JR gang can do except have the 10 th channel. There are needs at times to use the 10th channel. I just bought the new tranmitter this year and really agonized over the JR v Futaba battle before I got the new transmitter. I chose the Futaba and have not looked back.

Better gyros with futaba, not as many servo choices however.

Mark Lamos
Baltimore MD

sfaust

My Feedback: (11)

I've used both the 9ZWC2 and the 10X, and have settled on the 10x as my primary radio. The 9Z is a bit more flexible, but I haven't found any limitations on the 10X either. Basically, I went with the 10X since it gave me 2 additional proportional channels over the 9Z, and that was worth more than the flexibility I gave up. Both are excellent radios, and it boils down to your priorities for the added flexibility or the 2 additional channels.

mr_matt

My Feedback: (10)

Great summary.

I use Futaba TX/RX, JR servos, Futaba gyro, SR batteries, Oddino regulators

PineBaron

My Feedback: (38)

Futaba WC1. Have used Futaba for over twenty years. Having said that, I will have to agree about the tenth channel; fortunately I was able to use it for a switch only purpose. I think someone needs to complain to Futaba to get us that tenth channel working proportional if need be, dont know how much additional programming it would take to do that. But here lies the problem, there are only a maximum of eight proportional controls on the Tx (at any given time) that can be used concurrently within a flight condition. Using flight conditions no doubt allows us to redefine controls whence a proportional control can be used for any channel. For those new to the WC radios and not familiar with flight conditions, Futaba WC radios permit using upto eight flight conditions per model, switchable while flying(subject to available memory); a flight condition can redefine all controls, trims, functions and switches at the flick of a switch. I think JR probably have equivalent functionality in the 10x, I do not know for sure.

Doc_Dyer

My Feedback: (4)

thanks to all that replied.

such a response !!!! being a "new guy", been here bought lots of stuff, but not posted much.
I was expecting at most 1 or 2 replys.

this is the place to learn..

THANKS

Bradley

Gordon Mc

My Feedback: (11)

I have the Futaba Wc2 on my CAI Raptor, and JR 10X for my Bobcat and Super bandit.

Both good radios, but I favor the 10X.

Gordon

lov2flyrc

My Feedback: (24)

Fly all my jets on the new Futaba 9C, before that on the 8U. Only upgrade I would make would be to more channels if futaba made them available. Love the new 9C

Todd

Mitchell-RCU

My Feedback: (49)

I fly all of mine with a 9Z WC1.(HotSpot, Yellow F-4, Yellow F-18, Yellow Starfire, Wing B-25, Bvm Bobcat, and more) I have to admit that I do use the JR 8411 servos. Its funny, ten years ago when I was flying Helicopters most everyone that was using JR radios were using Futaba servos. Now most of the people I know are using the JR servos(8411).

Mitchell

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

I fly my HotSpot and giant scale aerobats with the 9Z WC2.

There are pros and cons to the radio.

The biggest complaint among scale jet modelers is a lack of channels. Scale modelers never have enough channels, nine just does not cut it. If you fly sport jets like I do nine channels is plenty.

In my opinion the manual leaves a lot to be desired. Very hard to understand, but then again I freely admit I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Fortunately you can just press buttons and watch what happens without screwing anything up too badly, that's how I've figured out how most of the features work and they work great on the 9Z.

The main reason I bought the system is for something JR does not offer, a frequency synthesized transmitter and receiver that allow you to operate on any frequency without changing crystals.
In practice I almost never change frequencies so I suppose the feature is not that big of a deal.

With regards to performance, if you do a search you will get plenty of people who will swear up and down that Futaba radios caused their model to crash, just as you will get plenty who swear JR did the same thing. Both radios, of course, are major brands with international reputations. They both work perfectly nearly all the time. It is my personal opinion that operator error, battery problems, installation issues and interference are the major causes of crashes, not radio brands.

My personal experience with the sythesized receiver has been excellent. Range checks have been incredible, so good I would need a guy with a walkie talkie to tell me which way the controls are moving, that's how far away I get. I recall Tad at Goldenwest telling me about when he range checked the RX in my HotSpot he piled the antenna up on top of the RX and still got a good range check.

In the end you will need to compare features and decide which is best for you. Don't forget Multiplex, from all reports it appears to be an excellent radio. I had a chance to handle them at Toledo and I really like the way they angle the sticks slightly for a more natural feel. I can't recall ever seeing a bad word about Multiplex on RCU.