FAQ I'm new to 3D... where do I start?

[stgdz]

Here's my suggestions

A good foamie to start

Crack yak

A good foamie to get better with

A dw 40" or 48" plane. The 40" fits in the trunk of a.compact

Balsa plane, edge, laser or extra in that order of 3d ability. Stay away from the slick and mxs. They are a bit trickier to fly.


So here is my reasoning. Use the small crack yak foe neighborhood flying. The thing is pretty much indestructible and will help you acquire the necessary skill set with the thumbs.

Next up is depron or you could skip rite to depron. Depron flies a little more like balsa for me. Its slightly stiffer and crashes a bit like balsa and foam. You can glue it back together but you will be picking up lots of pieces. This one you can use to remind you self that tera firma is firm so keep high.


Balsa, everyone says edge as the straight leading edge is eaaiest to enter alpha. Once in harrier though the laser is the most stable. The laser and extra will snap more and cleaner than the edge.


Most important is practice. I can wing rock any.of the above planes mentioned and none of them will make you a champ out of the box its just practice practice practice.



PS I learned harrier on an mxs

 

[Space Bat]

I ventured into 3d when buying a Precision Aerobatics Katana Mini....I loved this plane and it was a great groundbreaker for me as I mostly flew Warbirds and the odd Jet....OK the plane is nothing like the available 3d offerings of today's standard...but they are dirt cheap now and the parts are available and cheap...so if you are a competent flyer and not scared of balsa then could recommend the same journey I took...

I do now have a RC factory epp - although needs some repairs....and looking at either a twisted or a telink...to get ....they take off any fear or apprehension you may have about trying new and different stuff that may cause a mishap....

But also they are so much fun and insane to fly in 20mph winds..with a more powerful setup (ditching the slowfly prop)

 

[flylow3d]

Radio? What I have been told is to get anything with dual rates, mixing, and expo. If you are a Spektrum guy, get at least a Dx6i or Dx7I. For futaba, get at least a 6EX. Airtronics? I've heard it pretty much sucks, due to veerrryyyy slow transmission.

The Dx6i is a very slow radio so be careful with that one for learning 3d. Also, Airtronics makes one of the fastest radios on the market.

I personally prefer the Futaba 8FG. The 8fg is 14 channels so you can fly anything from a foamy to a 60% + size plane.

 

[RCAddict16]

The Dx6i is a very slow radio so be careful with that one for learning 3d. Also, Airtronics makes one of the fastest radios on the market.

I personally prefer the Futaba 8FG. The 8fg is 14 channels so you can fly anything from a foamy to a 60% + size plane.

Whaatttt???? I've heard at least 10 people say airtronics is extremely slow.

 

[Park_Aviator]

Whaatttt???? I've heard at least 10 people say airtronics is extremely slow.

SD10G (fast).

 

[HomieFoamie]

Like Joe said and I am sure Chad agrees with, 8fg Super is superior. It will be a very versatile radio across the board from foamie to giant scale. Programming options are virtually unlimited. I love mine and coming from Spektrum, I have to say it is leaps and bounds better. The latency is sickly fast. Snap roll at flip of a switch what! As for airframes, anything EPP is rock solid. There many good EPP models out there that fit the bill. 3DHS makes a couple good EPP birds as does hobbyking. It is all in how much you are willing to spend.

 

[wedoitall]

so a precision addiction wouldnt be a good first 3d plane?

 

[njswede]

so a precision addiction wouldnt be a good first 3d plane?

IMHO, you want to start with a foamy, because in order to learn, you have to push yourself to and sometimes beyond the point where a crash becomes likely. A foamy you can pick up and fly right after in 9 cases out of 10. A balsa plane, not so much.

 

[wedoitall]

IMHO, you want to start with a foamy, because in order to learn, you have to push yourself to and sometimes beyond the point where a crash becomes likely. A foamy you can pick up and fly right after in 9 cases out of 10. A balsa plane, not so much.

which plane would u recommend?

 

[gyro]

IMHO, you want to start with a foamy, because in order to learn, you have to push yourself to and sometimes beyond the point where a crash becomes likely. A foamy you can pick up and fly right after in 9 cases out of 10. A balsa plane, not so much.

which plane would u recommend?

I agree, starting with a foamy would be best... Personally, one of the foamy style airplanes that I used to practice with was from Twisted Hobbys. I had the RS-352 (https://www.twistedhobbys.com/RCF-39-EPP-RS-352-RCF-39-RS-352.htm) and it was a great flying airplane. One of the benefits of starting with a foamy, is that it is easy to repair crash damage with a little bit of "welder" glue. Also, this plane has a very good power-to-weight ratio, so you can quickly get out of trouble.
Again, I'm just speaking from my personal perspective, as there are plenty of other quality foam starter planes out there. The EPP series from 3DHS are also really nice, however they have a balsa substructure, which is a little more susceptible to damage... so IMO they would make for a better 2nd airplane.