New UM Planes and Quads for Christmas!

I got some of what I predicted in last year’s last post for Christmas! Let me tell you about them…

1. Nano QX FPV

I thought FPV would be fun. But I was wrong. It’s VERY fun! I never even felt like I was sitting on my couch. I was 5 feet in the air chasing family members and zooming through the house.

Expect a review in a month or so. It, ah, had an ‘issue’ with the camera… The lens fell off… So, I’ll have to get that worked out before the review.

2. Hobbyzone Champ

I know. Again. Actually, I think that this is my fifth Champ, and, it still wears the crown of the best ultra micro plane I have flown so far.

You can visit my review here.

Conclusion

I had a great end of 2014, and I got the top RC planes on my wanted list! Even though I got the top wanted planes, my wanted list has actually gotten longer!

Now I want ANOTHER Nano QX FPV so people can race me, and fancy, expensive video goggles. Not to mention another FPV camera to put on a faithful Champ. Rest assured that I’ll get a review of these extra wanted things out to you if I get them.

As always, there’s a Reader’s Opinion next week. Until then, thanks for reading!

Why Do You Fly RC Planes?

I have been thinking: why do I fly RC planes? Well, I decided to tell you!

1. It can be relaxing
2. It can be exciting
3. It is nearly always fun
4. It’s something to do
5. It gets you outside and off of the couch

Now, it’s your turn! List your top five reasons why you enjoy flying RC planes in the comments.

Midnight Flights #2 and 3

I had a Midnight Flight yesterday. No pics, though. I flew about 3 batteries.

Today, I didn’t exactly have a Midnight Flight, but I flew my Champ at least 5-10 batteries an hour before sundown. Still counts for something I guess.

Pics and full details will be covered in a later post (It’s about Champ + ing- definition: to fly a Hobbyzone Champ. Champing. Hey, I just made a new word!)

Until then,

Thanks for reading!

Midnight Flights #1

I’m challenging myself to fly my Hobbyzone Champ every night for three consecutive nights. Tonight, I did my first Midnight Flight (a flight at roughly sundown- not REALLY at midnight!). My camera person wasn’t there, so I could only get a picture of my Champ on the ground.

Tonight, I did my Midnight Flight at roughly 6:00 PM EST, so the sun had set about 10 minutes before flying. I’ll try to do my next two Midnight Flights a few minutes earlier so I can fly my whole 6 minutes.

I used Lectron Pro 180 mAH batteries. (Side note: they are excellent batteries for the price. I can get ’em with Amazon Prime. Eight batteries delivered in two days (with Prime) and very good customer service for only 40 bucks is nearly a steal!)

I had to come in with 2:40 minutes left on my DX6i timer because it got too dark.

There are my two pics. One has flash; the other doesn’t (I also love photography…).

The flight was uneventful. I haven’t flown for at least 2-3 weeks, so it was GREAT to be back in the air again. Also, actually flying gave me ideas and inspiration for more posts (such as this one)!

I’ve been concentrating on umFlight for three past weeks (and barely any free time) that I never actually flew. There’s absolutely NO substitute for flying a great UM plane like he Champ.

Landings were very rusty, but I think that’s mostly due to the darkness. I thought I was a few inches above the ground when I was really landing right then!

I need to practice more in the light.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to get my camera person/bad photographer/decent videographer out to take video and pics of the plane flying for tomorrow’s update.

Thanks for reading Midnight Flights #1 and I’ll see you tomorrow. Hopefully! Thanks for reading!

Is the Sport Cub S the new Champ? (Part 2)

Part two is on time.

Below, you will find my story regarding the Phantom SC S and its twin, the Tree SC S… And why I would name these two Sport Cubs those two incredibly strange names. Let the stories begin!

My first Sport Cub S was the Bind N Fly version (the version that doesn’t come with a transmitter). For the first couple of days that I owned my first BNF Sport Cub S (hereafter referred to as the SC S 1), I flew it in the street in front of my house. All went well until floats arrived.

On my first day with floats, the SC S 1 flew into a tree because it didn’t have enough power, with the floats on, to go up and around the tree. When it got back, one float had come off of it. That prompted the first picture that I showed you in part 1. That picture was taken right after I got it back.

After that, I hot glued that float back on. I finally got the courage to try it again a few days later.

As I said in the Demise of the Sport Cub S post, the first SC S I bought had a small incident with water when I tried it again after I fixed the floats. Rather than tell you about it again, I am going to quote that post below. Here is what happened:

10 minutes ago, I was flying it with floats over the water behind my house. I had just mechanically trimmed in a little down elevator on the SC S, and it was going a little down. So, I landed it on the water.

I clicked in a little up trim on my DX6i and I tried to takeoff again. The left wing tipped a little into the water. The left aileron servo might have gotten wet. Because it was on the other end of the water, I had no choice but to attempt another takeoff.

It started to accelerate, but, no matter what I did, it would not leave the water’s surface. It then started to go around in circles. I slowed it down, stopped, and tried again.

Same result.

The SC S eventually got turned upside down. As I write this, it is still in the water, face down. I just looked out of the window, and I can’t see it.

You can read the full post here.

Well, I didn’t find it. As I said later in the Demise of the Sport Cub S post, I ordered a new one. This new one will, hereafter, be referred to as the SC S 2.
The new one had some issues…

Tree SC S:

On my FIRST FLIGHT with SC S 2, it went into a tree at the neighborhood park (small field surrounded by trees that has a park bench). THE VERY FIRST FLIGHT!!! It crashed into the tree about a week ago, but LAZY me is too lazy to see if it fell out of the tree… That’s why I call SC S 2 the Tree SC S.

The Phantom SC S

Three or four days ago, I found the SC S 1 in my driveway. It must have floated to the edge of the water behind my house, and someone found it and returned it to my house! Thank you to whoever brought it back! That’s why I call SC S 1 the Phantom SC S.

I said that I would call it the Phantom Cub if it got back and was working, but most of the metal parts are rusted and the propellor barely spins. I doubt that it would fly.

In Conclusion:

Well, that’s my personal Sport Cub S story. Hopefully, I will go up to the park and see if the Tree SC S is back on the ground… Hopefully, it is.

Thanks for reading part 2 of my Sport Cub S review, and I hope that you enjoyed both parts. Share, subscribe, and comment!

Part 1: link

Take Two- Hobbyzone Sport Cub S (RTF this time; BNF last time)

My replacement SC S (Sport Cub S) just arrived! I’m going to maiden it as soon as I can.

The Photo Shoot:

Thanks for reading and stay tuned. The SC S review will be posted very soon.

Demise of the Sport Cub S

My new Sport Cub S just bit the dust.

10 minutes ago, I was flying it with floats over the water behind my house. I had just mechanically trimmed in a little down elevator on the SC S, and it was going a little down. So, I landed it on the water.

I clicked in a little up trim on my DX6i, and I tried to takeoff again. The left wing tipped a little into the water. The left aileron servo might have gotten wet. Because it was on the other end of the water, I had no choice but to attempt another takeoff.

It started to accelerate, but, no matter what I did, it would not leave the water’s surface. It then started to go around in circles. I slowed it down, stopped, and tried again.

Same result.

The SC S eventually got turned upside down. As I write this, it is still in the water, face down. I just looked out of the window, and I can’t see it.

BUT… All hope is NOT lost! I just ordered another one with Amazon Prime shipping! It is RTF, but the BNF didn’t have Prime shipping. And I needed a replacement NOW.

I don’t think that this one will make it (the water is brackish). But, it just might make it back. I will then have to call it the Phantom Cub.

Please note that this will NOT affect the review for the SC S that is scheduled to be posted this Sunday.

Stay tuned to umFlight. I’m planning some exciting things, and I just have to wait until their are a few more visitors and comments to reveal the exciting things. Thank you to all current visitors for being here.

Comment and share, please!

My Official Start in RC

Today I thought that I should post about how I got started in RC things.

Chapter 1:

The above picture shows some of my broken helis.

In June of 2012, I received a Helo TC Assault helicopter as a gift. But, the next day, it got dog hair tangled in the shaft and it never flew again. So, I decided to go to Brookstone and buy one of their coaxial helis. I bought two.

Within a month or two, these broke. I think I bought about 20 of them from June 2012 until Spring 2013. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

In fall of 2012, I bought a Revell Proto Max. It crashed during the third battery and never flew again. I got frustrated and moved back to the Brookstone helis.

Finally, in Spring 2013, I was flying a brand new Brookstone coaxial heli and it just fell out of the sky.

Chapter 2:

So, I bought a Blade CX2. I wanted to get a mCX2, but I was able to get the CX2 faster. The CX2, though, had overheating issues. I could only fly it for 0:30 until the twin motors overheated and the helicopter fell out of the sky.

This inspired me to get the Blade mSR. It was a great RC heli until I made the mistake of flying it when I was angry. I flew it, very quickly, into a wall and the motor plug came loose and fell out.

I then got the Blade Nano QX BNF (I used the radio that came with the mSR). That broke after a few months, so I bought a mCPX v2 RTF. I couldn’t fly that one that well.

I bought my second Nano QX BNF. All of chapter two, except for the Christmas part, happened from June 2013 to October 2013.

For Christmas, I got the new (at the time) Blade 180 QX, the Walkera Ladybird FPV, and the world’s smallest coaxial helicopter.

Chapter 3:

In February of 2014, I decided to try RC planes. I bought a Hobbyzone Duet RTF and I really liked it.

In May 2014, I finally bought a DX6i, a programmable transmitter. It improved my flying experience a lot! I then bought the Hobbyzone Champ, which is still one of my favorite planes.

In June, I received a Parkzone Night Vapor, which I will review soon, and a Blade 200 QX.

I have bought an E-Flite UMX Radian, which was another one of my favorite planes, but it sadly got lost in a tree. I also have gotten 2 more Champs (I only meant to get one) due to my original Champ getting crushed by a suitcase. The most recent thing that I purchased was a UM T-28.

I have a Hobbyzone Sport Cub S BNF on preorder. It has now arrived as I mentioned in my last post. A review will be posted within a week or two.

Please forgive me for not getting it posted at 5:00 AM (it’s 8:30 now); I completely forgot to schedule the post, and I just woke up!

Well, that’s my RC story. Post a comment to discuss the post or tell me any RC story that you have!

Remember To RANGE CHECK!

I know this is going to be one of my shortest posts. I also know this will be one of my most important posts.

I recently had a very close call with one of my Champs. Because my DX6 is broken and I didn’t feel like getting out my shiney new back-up DX6i, I simply got one of my many RTF package MLP4DSM’s which HH sells under Hobbyzone, Parkzone, and Blade brand names.

Firstly, I did not bother with a range check because I was going to stand in my driveway and fly the Champ up and down the street. Also, I completely forgot that the MLP4DSM is a low power transmitter like I mentioned in my review of the champ.

The DX6 which I usually fly with is a full power transmitter.

I usually fly my planes way down at the end of the street, with me still standing in my driveway controlling it, because there is an empty lot there.

Long story short, the plane was down over the lot, and the motor power cut out, and the Champ started spiraling down.

It crashed with a thud (I heard it). I was very lucky because it crashed into the bushes separating the empty lot from the house, but that doesn’t usually happen.

If I had done a range check, I would have seen the reduced range compared to my DX6 and not flown out as far. Additionally, if I would have remembered that the MLP4DSM is a low power transmitter, I would not have flown out as far.

The moral of the story here is to NEVER fly your first flight of the flying session without a range check. If you don’t, you may end up like me and find out that someone is wrong when it is too late.

As always, leave a comment if you have a personal story to share about how range checking can save your plane, or to discuss the post!

See you next Sunday!

Sicknesses and Wind Free Days

If you are anything like me, it seems like the best (windless) days to fly are the days you can’t fly!

I’ve been sick for the past couple days and there has been ZERO wind. For the past two weeks, it has been 15+ mph winds in my area! It is aggravating, but, on a positive note, is giving me time to plot more plane purchases, more posts, and time to wait to fly my RC planes again!

Have you ever had an aggravating  moment like this? Make a comment about it below!