R/C plane scales

[LSP_Ron]

I am looking at possibly getting back into R/C flying but man has it changed.  I used to be in the business in the late 80's, early 90's then again in early 2000.

 

What happened to scale? it used to be 1/5, 1/4, 1/3 scale etc.  Now it's 1600mm, 900mm , 70mm etc. that's completely meaningless. 

[D Bellis]

It's all about either wingspan or the diameter of the ducted fan (if so equipped). 

 

Frankly, it's often frustrating just digging through the babble far enough to find the wingspan of a model in retailers' descriptions. The actual scale of the model is generally not mentioned at all anymore. 

 

D

[ScottsGT]

On the road now, but I’m doing the same.  I’ll come back to post up some of my “discoveries”. 

[ScottsGT]

A few things I’ve discovered….

I think they’re using the wingspan in mm or meters now for electrics.  Honestly, I never noticed this until I read your post.  
I do know some of the old standbys like Balsa USA and Bud Nosen (scratch that, just selling balsa now) or Ziroli are still using the 1/3, 1/4 scale as size references.  I gave up my AMA membership back in 1999, and sold off everything in 2000.  Majority got sold at the Perry GA swap meet.  It’s like the Nats show, but the same place every year.  Well, bigger than the Nats, but is a swap meet.  
 

I too have been bitten by the bug again.  It’s really sad reading how all the cheap ARF import kits have killed off the old standbys like Midwest, Goldberg, Lanier, Sig (supposedly making a comeback) and worst of all, Topflight Monokote.  I’m wanting to go old school.  I bought a new Saito .30 and a new short kit of the old Ace 4-20 to wet my feet again.  I was never proficient with my flying, especially that part about getting it back on the ground safely and in one piece so it can fly again.  I threw in the towel in the fall of 1999 because of family commitments.  4 kids, a wife working weekends = no stick time. 
My plan is start with the 4-20.  After a year and lots of confidence, I have a set of plans for the old Bridi Big Bee I want to shrink down to an 81” wingspan and bolt on a Saito 180 I picked up.  After that, I want to jump to some biplanes. I picked up an Sig Smith Mini plane and I’ve always wanted a Christian Eagle.  I figure buy the time I get to that point, I’ll probably be too old or blind to continue on. I guess you could say I finally came up with a bucket list item.  I also have an old Coverite GeeBee kit I want to put in the air one day.  
 

But shocked to find out a majority of glow fuel companies are now gone as well.  Hazmat shipping has pushed everyone to electrics or gas.  Even Saito and OS are now manufacturing their big engines modified to run pump gas and an oil mix.  I prefer to stick with alcohol.  I’m going ignition on my big motors and I can buy VP Racing fuel (Methanol) locally and order my oil off Amazon and mix my own fuel.  I just hope I can do this and my scale plastics too.  Not going to jump the gun and start selling off my high end kits just yet.  Taking this slowly as my OCD self will allow me to. 

[D Bellis]

4 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

Hazmat shipping has pushed everyone to electrics or gas.

Actually, the giant leaps made between about 2005 and 2010 in affordable, lightweight and very powerful brushless motors along with Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries were what basically killed off the glow engine market. I sold off all my glow engines and replaced them all with electric by 2010. 

 

Another thing you folks getting back into to it after such a long absence might want to consider is replacing your old radio gear (if you haven't already). Everything is 2.4GHz now. The old 72MHz stuff isn't even legal to use for airplanes in the US anymore. Spektrum is arguably the best brand of radio equipment available. 

 

If you're still building with balsa, then this site has a veritable cornucopia of free plans available: 

https://outerzone.co.uk/index.asp

 

Download the pdf files and have them printed at Staples or similar, usually for less than $10 US. Be sure to ask for "engineering paper" prints and not photo-quality. 

 

HTH,

D

[ScottsGT]

9 hours ago, D Bellis said:

Actually, the giant leaps made between about 2005 and 2010 in affordable, lightweight and very powerful brushless motors along with Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries were what basically killed off the glow engine market. I sold off all my glow engines and replaced them all with electric by 2010. 

 

HTH,

D

Blasphemy!  
I’m a gear head that loves 4 cycle engines!  I am making a compromise on my larger 4 cycles and converting them to battery powered ignition systems. Does that count?  
 

I did purchase a second hand Spektrum NX8+ TX, bought a new receiver as well.  I’m about to start ordering some servos and a battery pack/switch to start playing around with learning how to program these new fangled hand held computers.  

[D Bellis]

2 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

Blasphemy!  

LOL!  

 

If the rest of the world agreed with you, then spark-ignition engines from the 50s would still be all the rage. 

 

I'm out there to fly, not mess with a bunch of uncooperative crap hoping to maybe get in a flight or two before the sun goes down.   Plug in a battery, check the controls and fly. No muss. No Fuss. No mess. No pile of 'field equipment' or fuel jugs required to operate it all. And the only regular maintenance involved is recharging the batteries back at home afterward. 

 

I'll save my tinker-time for the V8s out in my garage.  

 

D

[ScottsGT]

8 hours ago, D Bellis said:

LOL!  

 

If the rest of the world agreed with you, then spark-ignition engines from the 50s would still be all the rage. 

 

I'm out there to fly, not mess with a bunch of uncooperative crap hoping to maybe get in a flight or two before the sun goes down.   Plug in a battery, check the controls and fly. No muss. No Fuss. No mess. No pile of 'field equipment' or fuel jugs required to operate it all. And the only regular maintenance involved is recharging the batteries back at home afterward. 

 

I'll save my tinker-time for the V8s out in my garage.  

 

D

Oh yea, I see the appeal.  Friends that were flying electric a while back were also asking me why I’m not going electric. 
 

One of my fondest memories back in the day was a late evening flight after work. It was my 96” wingspan Birdie Big Bee with my OS FT-300 twin cylinder 4 cycle.  That engine sound with the 24” prop cutting through the air with the sun setting behind me lighting up the bright yellow monokote finish as I did a slow flyby.