Posted by Chris Wieland on April 23, 2011 at 10:15am
Hello,I need to use a UAV for some photography from a moving aircraft. I have never flown an RC plane before. Is there a UAV available that I could run without any experience and without crashing and burning it on the first try?I have a budget of $5k for this effort.Thanks,Fred
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You definitely want to have RC flying experience first!!
My 2 cents is to buy a cheap and easy to fly plane and (crash and) fly it for one season at least so that you have the routine and feel of how a plane behaves and can control the plane with muscular memory and instinct rather than having to think. Easy Star is excellent for a first plane. The default power set-up is certainly good enough for learning to fly. Do not make the mistake of starting with a model with a lot of hours and heart put into building it - you will crash it anyway. I have seen even experienced modelers crash their maiden - and cry for having lost their baby just like that. Stable, well flying, slow and durable are most important parameters for your first plane. (Easy Star is a bit fast, but its durability makes up that part pretty well - just make sure you have a large area and still air for your first flights. Easy Star is certainly one of the best first planes ever offered to modelers.)
If you end up starting with no-aileron plane (like Easy Star) I also would suggest setting up your radio so that rudder is rudder to begin with and aileron stick is mute in your tail controlled plane. That is a matter of taste and there certainly are other opinions as well. My argument for this recommendation is that it makes using rudder coordination easier if and once you move to more demanding models. The physics of using the rudder stays the same and so does the stick location & your finger memory.
If you are going on the DIY path, get an EasyStar (or simlilar). Add a brushless setup, some batteries and a rc kit to get some RC experience. IMO it almost flies itself (on a calm day).
Replies
You definitely want to have RC flying experience first!!
My 2 cents is to buy a cheap and easy to fly plane and (crash and) fly it for one season at least so that you have the routine and feel of how a plane behaves and can control the plane with muscular memory and instinct rather than having to think. Easy Star is excellent for a first plane. The default power set-up is certainly good enough for learning to fly. Do not make the mistake of starting with a model with a lot of hours and heart put into building it - you will crash it anyway. I have seen even experienced modelers crash their maiden - and cry for having lost their baby just like that. Stable, well flying, slow and durable are most important parameters for your first plane. (Easy Star is a bit fast, but its durability makes up that part pretty well - just make sure you have a large area and still air for your first flights. Easy Star is certainly one of the best first planes ever offered to modelers.)
If you end up starting with no-aileron plane (like Easy Star) I also would suggest setting up your radio so that rudder is rudder to begin with and aileron stick is mute in your tail controlled plane. That is a matter of taste and there certainly are other opinions as well. My argument for this recommendation is that it makes using rudder coordination easier if and once you move to more demanding models. The physics of using the rudder stays the same and so does the stick location & your finger memory.
-mikko
If you are going on the DIY path, get an EasyStar (or simlilar). Add a brushless setup, some batteries and a rc kit to get some RC experience. IMO it almost flies itself (on a calm day).
Good luck!