Quoted:
Its about that time of year when lots of people get radio controlled flying things or start thinking of buying them.  Hopefully this thread can help answer questions, get you flying safely and create some r/c guys for life.  And help you spend some money.  

I have been flying r/c about 30 years now.  I have flown sailplanes, powered sport, parkfliers, jets, helicopters and quads.  I know we have some other r/c guys will jump in if I miss something or make a mistake.  I will start out with what I think are the most common questions and try to answer any that pop up.  Having said that, I spent the day with 30 4 year olds, I will try to stay as long as I can.    

One thing I want to throw out there is that r/c guys are some of the most open and nice guys you will ever meet.  Stop buy a local club.  With one exception I have never seen a club that didn't absolutely love new people that didn't know anything but were interested.  Imagine walking into a gun club and asking a few questions and ended up shooting a M2 with 1000 rounds of free ammo and someone offering you a few AR if you are interested.  That's most airplane clubs.  

Questions:
What is the ARFCOM of r/c?

Easy.  Great guys, tons of knowledge, avoid the gun threads.   www.rcgroups.com

What is the NRA of r/c airplanes?  

Academy of Model Aeronautics.  Awesome organization that does a lot to promote and further model aviation.  They also provide insurance at a very low rate that is required to fly at most fields and is a CYA.  http://www.modelaircraft.org/

Who is the Palmetto State Arms of R/C?

Depends.  The big three are below.
www.towerhobbies.com
www.horizonhobby.com
www.hobbyking.com

How much?

Like anything else, it depends.  I would say it start at around $250 and goes as high as you want to go.  Anything cheaper than that is going to be kicking "toy" status.  Let me make a clarification here and why its important.  They are all "toy airplanes" but some are designed by people that know what they are doing and care.  There is a lot of stuff coming out of china that is crap, some that is workable and some that is frankly amazing.  The problem is as a new guy you won't know the difference.  The key is to get a solid start, THEN decide what you can handle or fix.  Think in terms of a newbie telling you they want to start shooting, but don't want to spend too much.  Are you going to tell him a Glock or Jimenez Arms?  Sure the Jimenez is cheap, but is a waste of money and a wonderful way to make him hate shooting.  

My avatar is a fully molded carbon fiber sailplane.  With the airframe and servos in it you are looking at about $2000.

Good example:
Apprentice: https://www.hobbyzone.com/rc-airplanes/rtf/EFL3100.html
An example of proven brands would be EFlite, ParkZone, Hobbico, Futaba, JR, Great Planes.  I am biased, but most of the stuff that comes out of the Horizon umbrella, Eflite, JR and Parkzone, have proven to be great.  The customer service is outstanding.  

How high?
As far as you can see.  I have had a few over about 3K.  That is a 4m airplane that is a spec.

How fast?
Current world record is an unpowered sailplane using a technique called dynamic soaring.  505Mph.  No that isn't a typo and isn't a scale speed.  

How hard is it to learn to fly?
How hard is it to learn to shoot?  It isn't.  Start safely, then learn to expand horizons.  The easiest and safest way is to start with a simulator.  You plug a device into your computer that connects to an r/c transmitter and a program runs a simulation.  You can crash a million times and just hit reset.  There are two things that are "tricky".  One is when the airplane heads towards you.  Some of the controls are reversed.  Heading away from you pushing the stick right makes the plane go right.  Coming towards you pushing it right makes it go left.  This is x1000 worse when flying a helicopter.  Then there is landing.  You have to get low, slow and start making some distance guesstimates.  The other, great, option is to get a flight instructor and fly real r/c airplanes.  Not to worry, he has a "buddy box" and can take over when you get in over your head.  

So which simulator?
Again, I am biased.  RealFlight has some great features, but in my experienced is a little too easy.  Someone will be along shortly to tell me i am wrong.  

Phoenix : http://www.horizonhobby.com/product/airplanes/airplane-radios/simulators/phoenix-r-c-pro-simulator-v50-with-dx4e-rtm50r4400

RealFlight : http://www.amazon.com/Great-Planes-Flight-Tactic-TTX600/dp/B00G7JCX5I

Can't I just try on my own?
It CAN happen.  It doesn't often work well.  Find a club or an instructor, it will save you a ton of time and heartbreak.

But where would I find someone?

Those AMA people.  http://www.modelaircraft.org/membership/clubs.aspx

What if I break my plane?

Planes break.  All planes will eventually meet their maker.  However, in the past decade things have changed.  Many companies build planes out of EPP foam.  Its the stuff used in bumpers of cars.  It bounces.  When it doesn't it is pretty easy to fix.  Over and over again.  Most airplanes these days tend to come in a pretty advanced state of construction and can be flown pretty quickly after opening the box.  

What are the "parts"?

At minimum you have an airframe, a transmitter (or radio, never controller) the pilot holds, a receiver and battery in the airplane, and servos.  The servos control the control surfaces.  Unless its a quad/drone, then it controls the controller and ESC.  If it is an airplane with power it has a brushless motor, an ESC electronic speed control and a battery, most likely chemistry of LiPo.  

What is the hardest type of flying.  This is the 9MM/45 debate of the r/c world.  To me learning to fly FPV has been hard.  It is a terrible combination of full scale and r/c flying that has my brain befuddled at the moment.  I can do either but not both.  I would say the hardest is r/c helicopters.  An inverted, nose-in, hover 1 foot off the ground is a challenge.  Second would be scale sailplanes.  They can behave badly and there is no "go around".  Jets (EDF) are fun but were not particularly challenging.  I bet turbines would be different.  Normal sport flying isn't particularly challenging once you get it down.  In general quads are very easy.

Some pics/videos to get us started.  Ask away.
My FPV 250 racing quad.  

http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/af67/broken_reticle/quad.jpg

Why I would spend the money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQuEgVNAQhE

What a 100mph jet looks like.

http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/af67/broken_reticle/arfcom/squall3.500.jpg





 

Quoted:


Ok, thanks.  I've been looking at that copter kit on Ebay for awhile.  How was it to build and get set up.  I'm a total newb, but know my way around in the mechanical and fabrication world.  Electronic controls are another matter though.

Quoted:


I used to fly about 20 years ago.



Nitromethane was just about the only game in town.  There were a few viable electrics, but they were heavy and the run time was short. Now, it seems like most RC planes are electric.



I got pretty good at flying, although I never got beyond high-wing trainers (Eagle 63) and Cub replicas.  But it was still a lot of fun.



I've thought about getting into it again, but that's one more hobby I don't have time or money to throw at.

Quoted:
I tried nitro with a cheap kit that ended tragically...only electric for me now.
http://www.nwoo.net/i/rc.jpg

Quoted:


I tried nitro with a cheap kit that ended tragically...only electric for me now.

http://www.nwoo.net/i/rc.jpg

Quoted:


I recently bought an E-flite Rare Bear, holy shit this thing is fast! Easily hits 100+ mph in level flight. Haven't flown it much though, living in south florida its difficult to find a place to fly without going to a club.

(not my pic)

http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/horizonhobby/EFL1275_b0?wid=1400&hei=778

Quoted:
I've been flying R/C for 20+ years.  I even had an R/C manufacturing business for 12 years and designed and sold 40,000 kits.

I said all that to say this.

FPV Racing is the pinnacle now of where its at.  FPV Racing is a brand new sport at is growing at a HUGE PACE

Dubai has announced a World Champion event to be held this next year with the Grand Prize of $1,000,000.00 for first place.

http://www.emirates247.com/sports/local/dubai-launches-million-dollar-world-drone-prix-2015-12-12-1.613732


Since I started FPV Racing this summer, all my other planes and helis have been gathering dust.  There is really nothing like it out there.  It truly feels like you are sitting inside the quad as you fly through the gates.

Here's my personal design that I am racing now, a 182mm FPV racer that swings 5" props.  This is just a prototype cut from fiberglass.  My full carbon frames should be in in a couple days.

<a href="https://flic.kr/p/Ba9i6Z" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5800/23075953775_06457b3cdb_o.jpg</a>x-frame 12 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

And to show you how small these things really are.

<a href="https://flic.kr/p/AZLUtb" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/663/22969931816_c08888a0f5_o.jpg</a>x-frame 8 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

Quoted:



I recently bought an E-flite Rare Bear, holy shit this thing is fast! Easily hits 100+ mph in level flight. Haven't flown it much though, living in south florida its difficult to find a place to fly without going to a club.


(not my pic)


http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/horizonhobby/EFL1275_b0?wid=1400&hei=778

Quoted:


I've been flying R/C for 20+ years.  I even had an R/C manufacturing business for 12 years and designed and sold 40,000 kits.



I said all that to say this.



FPV Racing is the pinnacle now of where its at.  FPV Racing is a brand new sport at is growing at a HUGE PACE



Dubai has announced a World Champion event to be held this next year with the Grand Prize of $1,000,000.00 for first place.



http://www.emirates247.com/sports/local/dubai-launches-million-dollar-world-drone-prix-2015-12-12-1.613732





Since I started FPV Racing this summer, all my other planes and helis have been gathering dust.  There is really nothing like it out there.  It truly feels like you are sitting inside the quad as you fly through the gates.



Here's my personal design that I am racing now, a 182mm FPV racer that swings 5" props.  This is just a prototype cut from fiberglass.  My full carbon frames should be in in a couple days.



https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5800/23075953775_06457b3cdb_o.jpgx-frame 12 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr



And to show you how small these things really are.



https://farm1.staticflickr.com/663/22969931816_c08888a0f5_o.jpgx-frame 8 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

Quoted:






One word for you(actually three) DAL Unbreakable Props.  They aren't quite unbreakable, but they are TOUGH.  I can get through a whole day of racing with one set usually where when I was flying with HQ props, I was going through them like crazy.
As for my 182mm frame, everything fits fine on this frame, but it is for an advanced builder. There is a PDB board on the bottom of the stack that has built in 5V and 12V for the FPV equipment.  Next in the stack is a Naze 32 flight controller.



Everything is depinned and directly soldered, including the FrSky X4R receiver.  AUW is 390 grams with a 3s 1300mah battery.  The carbon version should be about 20 grams lighter.



PDB, ESCs and Motors



https://farm1.staticflickr.com/644/22453146134_7edbb24a6e_o.jpgx-frame 9 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr



Flight Controller with soldered connections and video transmitter and camera cables in place



https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5627/23075954265_d1d67287c1_o.jpgx-frame 10 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

Quoted:

I stared with the CC3D controller, I guess its starting to look like that is a dead end.  
 

Quoted:
Never seen the FPV stuff before... damn now I want one.

Quoted:
Great timing! In this price range, $700 what do you think of this intro quad?http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3-standard

I will probably only use it as a novelty. Thank you for your thoughts.

Quoted:
I've been flying R/C for 20+ years.  I even had an R/C manufacturing business for 12 years and designed and sold 40,000 kits.

I said all that to say this.

FPV Racing is the pinnacle now of where its at.  FPV Racing is a brand new sport at is growing at a HUGE PACE

Dubai has announced a World Champion event to be held this next year with the Grand Prize of $1,000,000.00 for first place.

http://www.emirates247.com/sports/local/dubai-launches-million-dollar-world-drone-prix-2015-12-12-1.613732


Since I started FPV Racing this summer, all my other planes and helis have been gathering dust.  There is really nothing like it out there.  It truly feels like you are sitting inside the quad as you fly through the gates.

Here's my personal design that I am racing now, a 182mm FPV racer that swings 5" props.  This is just a prototype cut from fiberglass.  My full carbon frames should be in in a couple days.

<a href="https://flic.kr/p/Ba9i6Z" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5800/23075953775_06457b3cdb_o.jpg</a>x-frame 12 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

And to show you how small these things really are.

<a href="https://flic.kr/p/AZLUtb" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/663/22969931816_c08888a0f5_o.jpg</a>x-frame 8 by Andrew Marjama, on Flickr

Quoted:


ive been looking at these while at work for a couple weeks.



ive raced alot of off road in the past

2wd sct

4wd sct

2wd 10th scale buggy

8th scale nitro buggy



ive got a trex 100 heli that ive flown indoors





the biggest thing holding me back is I want a quality built kit (essentially RTF)

I dont know much about air transmitters, would a DX6I work well for a racer style drone?

Quoted:

wow...

that is bad ass.

the behavior of that thing must be instantaneous.

i will try fpv quads at some point but for now I just want to do fixed wing high speed terrain following stuff at a spot I fly in the middle of nowhere.

i started fpv by taking a decent flying foamy 2.3m glider and weighing it down to a pig.     At some point I want to go balsa 3m and go light weight for duration flying but I am not there yet.     I will likely get better results with a flying wing and 4500mah and learning to fly efficiently.

Quoted:
ive been looking at these while at work for a couple weeks.

ive raced alot of off road in the past
2wd sct
4wd sct
2wd 10th scale buggy
8th scale nitro buggy

ive got a trex 100 heli that ive flown indoors


the biggest thing holding me back is I want a quality built kit (essentially RTF)
I dont know much about air transmitters, would a DX6I work well for a racer style drone?

Quoted:

I was just looking at electric conversions for the Eagle.  Intriguing. Even when they first started doing them, they pretty much matched the performance and run times of the gas engines, so I imagine they'd be better now But, I'd have to find/build an Eagle first...probably not going to happen.

What would be a good setup that would mimic the old Eagle, but in a smaller electric package?  That Eagle was nice, but there weren't a lot of places you could fly it due to its size.

I'd like something with 4 channels, high wing, light wing loading, and durability, for not a lot of money.  

Quoted:





Can't I just try on my own?

It CAN happen.  It doesn't often work well.  Find a club or an instructor, it will save you a ton of time and heartbreak.