I'd go electric without a second thought. You'll do more flying, less fuckin' around.



I'm no fan of nitro, plus that stuff has gotten really expensive! And electric has surpassed it with brushless motors.



 

So going electric is almost twice as expensive as nitro...How long will it fly in that configuration?

Shit I just bought a heli today.  Couldn't decide heli or airplane, maybe next purchase will be airplane.  


And no I have not balled it up yet. (Battery is still charging)

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Heli's are fun, I crash them on a regular basis.

I figured with this big fucker, I'd be more careful.

Yeah I did that real flight thing and did good with planes, helis not so much.  I went in to get a t rex 450 and they would not even sell me it, first time I've been turned down for trying to spend more money.

They did however sell me a blade 120 sr, and said they'd take it back in on trade for full retail against a 450 if I never pile it up.  Guessing that was a safe bet for them.

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No shit, there. Had a buddy who worked at a hobby shop-he ended up with a 12x6 slowflyer prop- from some guy's hyper over powerd slow stick- slicing through his hand.  Took a shitload of stitches to close his hand back up.

And I concur on going electric. Still plenty of noise and performance, but no fuel/starter/fuel leaks/nasty crap on your plane.

LoL, you'd hate to go flying with me-I like flying 1/2A's and diesels to remind me how nice it is to fly electric once in a while...

GO GAS!!!

I set this exact same plane up for my dad, although he bought it from a differnt company.  We put an Evolution 40cc gas motor in it.  The evolution sucked, but the plane flew great with the gasser.  You will need the weight up front anyway for the CG to balance out.  

Beef up the gear mounts or you will rip them out on take-off or your first landing.  Otherwise a pretty nice model.  For the motor you will need a rail mount engine instead of a firewall style unless you do some mods.  The wood they have in it for the engine mount is light ply so you will need to beef it up some.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Scott

ever flew before?

and what did you get? blade 120 sr?

your going to crash..

I posted up a little bit.  Yeah they wouldn't sell me a bigger one, first time that's happend to me.  But they said they'd give me full retail back on it for a 450 assuming I don't wad the thing up.  And that's a safe bet for them I'm guessing.

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You are going to crash it if you are not familiar with the Heli....



Have you flow one before.



 

Here's something probably close to the size that you need for a whole lot cheaper. There are bigger if you need them the price is extremely reasonable and I know a bunch of people who run turnigy motors with great success.

PLEASE for the love of God. Do not put an electric motor on that warbird.    Go with a Saito 4 stroke. The new FG series gas powered is great.  There were a few problems with them when they first came out but it looks like they're good to go now.You'll thank yourself later. Mixed gas is 10 time cheaper than nitro fuel. 4 strokes are more reliable than 2. The FG series has electronic ignition. A battery pack provides constant power and it uses a real spark plug....zap zap zap.
Also you get the sound of a real aircraft. Add one of Saitos flex pipes (straight pipe) and you'll be turning heads at the flying field.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u304/Marcel_073/SAIEG20-250.jpg


Would you rather your warbird sound like this...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sst6kOKkCpY


OR THIS!!??...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GelqiS73vpI

Ha air hogs count?

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I've been a fan of Saito 4-strokes for awhile.  Although I have been curious about their new gas motors.  I mostly have experience with Saito .91 and .100s in my warbirds.



I've had a couple of O.S. 4 strokes as well.  I really like O.S. for 2-strokes.  I've always run .32s w/pipes on my Diamond Dusts and Wild Wiz's.



For 4-strokes, I'd stay away from Magnums.  They are hit or miss.  If you get a bad one, they really suck.

ok before you do anything go here please!!!!!!

Radds school

and follow it step by step..

agreed saito is great for 4stroke, I prefer OS for 2 strokes. also like others said 2.4ghz is the way to go for radio, a good servo is needed for large scale aircrafts stick with JR or Futaba theyre great servos. electric is much more easier because of less mess and tools to carry. But I still love nitro power! With new technology advancement electric brushless motors are even faster than some nitros! But the downside is that waiting for the batteries to charge! Unless you buy several batteries then it is fun but batteries aren't cheap! A good Lipo charger is needed to balance it properly and discharge it properly. I have been flying both nitro helis and airplanes my whole life well actually started helis in 2007. Now I dont have one anymore well i do but its very old and no transmitter, the good one was a TT Raptor 50 Titan which i just sold it. I plan to get HK450 soon theyre cheap and fun to fly. Like others say get sim its a big helper! I have Phoenix Sim a great one! http://www.phoenix-sim.com

Good luck and happy flying!

Saito engine, Hitec or Futaba metal-gear servos, 2.4ghz radio.
Lithium-ion batteries are nice for reciever packs...cost more, but have last much longer.

Land wheels side down.

Honda GX35

$225, no fuel mixing

Would like a gasoline engine, but I don't want the stupid pull start.

Aiden,

Go to the hobby  city link posted on the first page.  They have a bunch of CHEAP gas engines that would work.  Go for a light 50cc motor (anything from 25cc-50cc will work, 35-40cc is probably the best) and you are in business.  You can also buy from Chief Aircraft, they have decent prices on gassers.  You don't have to worry about a couple of hundred dollars worth of batteries and chargers for electrics and you don't have a bunch of slime to clean off the plane from a glow fuel motor.

Good luck.
Scott

Ok, I'm not wanting electric...which gasoline engine would work, and is gasoline better or worse than Nitro?

That Honda 4 stroke is a PIG.  Even when you strip it down, removing the recoil start, plastic bits, tank, clutch and trim the flywheel down (the fan blades need to go, plenty of cooling from the prop), it still is over 8 pounds.  A 1.2 glow engine will be about 2.5 pounds while a 4 stroke 1.4 will be about 3 pounds, give or take for fuel tank, mounts etc.  The Honda is also a front mount, meaning more work, assuming you have the rails for a conventional mount.  Do you have the mount fuel proofed already (thinned epoxy coating)?  
 

I've fuel proofed the entire plane...I know, a bit much...but better safe than sorry.  I wouldn't mind the 4 stroke, but I think I'm leaning 1.8 (I think, I'm not familiar with these yet).  I used to fly a hanger 9 trainer, and it came with everything.  I just want the largest engine it can take, so I don't look back and regret getting a smaller motor.  

I also want to use a 3 blade prop, so I need to know what size to get on that too.  I'm starting from scratch, and don't want to have to go back and fix shit.

I want retracts too, but don't know which to go with.  I'm just trying to get back in it slowly, build the plane over the next few months (while I fly a trainer again), and get it right the first time.

Ok, I'm a newb here I know.  I welcome any necessary flogging.  Post count is low because I'm new to rifles.

I'm not new to airplanes. ;)

I had to keep checking the dates on these posts.  Some of the stuff I see here is crazy.  $300 batteries?

Hobbyking.com, take a look.

Here is my 17.25lb, 96", 2000+ watt Monocoupe.
http://static.rcgroups.com/forums/attachments/6/2/6/4/0/a2660739-113-coupe4.jpg

Motor, ESC, and batteries came from Hobby King.  $65 motor, $100 ESC, $150 batteries (10s1p 5000mah 40c).  It's a 19x10 prop BTW.  Radio power comes from a 2 cell A123 pack.  I bought the airframe used from a fellow club member, it had a G26 on it.  My electric setup out-performs it.  In "airshow" mode I get 10 minutes out of a charge.  If I just puttered around I could get 15+ minutes.

Next take a look at my 17.5lb, 94", 2300+ watt B-17.
http://static.rcgroups.com/forums/attachments/6/2/6/4/0/a3269458-8-b17b.jpg

Motors are around $15 each, ESCs are around $23 each, Batteries are around $25 each (4s1p 2200mah).  Obviously 4 of each of those.  Radio power again comes from a 2 cell A123 pack.  Flight time is only 5 minutes.  The gentleman who built it did not leave much room in the nacelles for larger batteries.  It's fine though because it's not aerobatic, it just goes up and does a few circuits and comes back down.

Finally something not so huge... Here is my 6.5lb, 70", 900+ watt Toledo Special.  (And my son :) )
http://static.rcgroups.com/forums/attachments/6/2/6/4/0/a3091724-132-IMG_2124.jpg

Motor was $25, ESC was $40, and the battery was $60 (5s1p 4000mah 40c).  Radio power comes from the BEC built into the ESC.  Top speed is over 70mph, total flight time is around 10 minutes, it has unlimited vertical performance.  It has flown from the deck to 2496' AGL in a couple of minites, although I did not time it (I should have).

As for the sound, do you really think that glow motor sounds anything at all like the original motor in the full scale warbird?  No way.  Big electrics are very impressive in their own right.  And people do make sound modules that produce "authentic" sound if you really want it.  But let me tell you, if I start tail sliding my 2000watt Monocoupe it sounds pretty freakin' incredible.  Yup, I'm a hardcore electric guy.  But to each his own.  :)  I hope I have opened some of your eyes to what is possible with electric these days.  If anyone has any specific questions as for electric setups I would be happy to help, feel free to IM.

-Jay

EDIT: typos

First, welcome to the site!  You won't get flogged for posting relevant info.

Between you and Keith, I'm still not sure on the whole electric thing.  I've heard a few of these, with 3 blade props that sounded pretty good...but what's the flight time?  

I'm torn.

Bump for more info.