OT: Anyone flying electric parkflyers?

[NeveSSL]

Hi all!

Just curious if anyone was flying small RC electrics.

I'm thinking about trying to talk my wife into just letting me sell my nitro planes and getting a couple of small electrics. Just one to begin with, of course, but maybe an extra one after that for fun.

Anyone?

Brandon

[rcmike]

I have a small E flight Cap 232 and a brand new Thunder Tiger Mini Titan helicopter. The heli is running on a 4 cell battery and has more punch per pound than my nitro helis. I would love to have a big electric heli but the cost of the batteries is outrageous.

[leshampton]

stick with nitro if you want more realistic flight performance. go with the electric if you want to fly in small areas and airplanes that don't really fly like a real one, my husband does both, also flys real planes too. He prefers the nitro planes over the electric by far. however he does like the ducted fan electrics so far. depends on what your wanting though 3d capability or realistic flight performance

[NeveSSL]

Nice Mike! Can't go wrong with a Cap 232!

That heli sounds fun. What batteries do the big ones take? 5 cell li-pos or something?

leshapmton: I'd love to stick with nitro, and I'll without a doubt go back to it, but I'm in a 2 bedroom apartment and will be for some time... don't have room for nitro! Plus there are more readily-available places to fly electrics than nitro. Once I get settled into a career and we're able to buy a house I'll be getting some nice planes with Saito 4-strokes. Maybe even a bipe!

And, to be honest, I don't care as much about realistic flight... I'm just lookin' for a bit of fun.

I have seen a B17 model with all 4 engines running (all OS .20s, I think)... THAT was a beautiful plane... sounded beautiful too!

Brandon

[rcmike]

leshampton, not all electrics are like that. At the IRCHA (International Radio Control Helicopter Association) event this year the electrics had more power than the nitro. Check out this video.
video

The heli I have will do everything my Raptor 90 will do. The cap will hover at just above half stick and flies pretty darn good. I love my nitros and will probably never give them up but electric has came a long way in just a few years. I guess my point is that not all park fliers are delicate foam models that don't fly very well.

NeveSSL, some of the larger helis take 10 cell packs or even larger. Then you have to get a good charger......

[NeveSSL]

HOLY COW! Is that you again, Mike?

That is some INSANE flying! There was one guy at the place I used to fly at... but only one... And he wasn't quite that good... that is ridiculous! Looks fun, tho.

Brandon

[rcmike]

I wish! That is Daniel Jetschin (pronounced Yetsin) from Germany. I went to that event and there were 10 helis flying at once most of the time and they were all good.

[NeveSSL]

Oh, ok. Gotcha.

What kind of charger are you using, out of curiosity?

Brandon

[rcmike]

I am using a cheap Apache charger from Hobby Lobby. It gets the job done but I really need to get a better one. Most people are using the Triton from Great Planes for smaller batteries (up to 5 cells).

[NeveSSL]

Does Hobby Lobby have a nice shop? I know they sell a ton of stuff, just wasn't sure they have a retail shop.

Brandon

[rcmike]

Frankly the store front leaves a little to be desired. It is very small and they don't have everything out there for you to look at. Customer service is hit or miss. I have had some people who would bend over backwards to help you and some that seemed like they could care less. When I first got into planes there was a guy there that really helped us out. Unfortunately he left after a while. Back then they had about as much nitro stuff as electric.

[NeveSSL]

Wow... thats interesting. You would think that they would have a rather large retail place... but I guess probably 90% of their sales are online considering how popular they are online. I will still have to check it out one day.

Thanks!

Brandon

[Avalanche Wolf]

Last time I went to the one in Franklin I had to ask the guy if they were closing shop since there were only 3-4 plane kits , no helis i could see and only a few cars/trucks as well , the place was really cleared out. He told me it was some sale but the time I Went in before that wasnt much better.

I would love to get back into my Nitros , if the place wasnt so dang far away I would be out there a lot more. The weather isnt helping either.

I have a really large open field next to the house that a park flyer would be perfect. Maybe it is high time to start looking seriously into them.

That is if i could stop buying stuff for the tank.

[NeveSSL]

I'm looking at a GWS E-Starter. There are tons of good little electrics to start with, though. I've got an 8 ch. radio, so I'm hoping that I could just spend like $100 and get a basic electric rig (bats, charger, plane, esc).

Brandon

[rcmike]

If you are talking about Hobbytown I know what you mean. It used to be located in the shopping center where Kroger is. The place was very busy most of the time. He said the rent was getting very high so he moved to that new location. Since then I don't think business has been very good. At the place before he had all the kids that were coming out of Kroger with their parents talking them into going. He also had the husbands of the ladies who went into that big craft store coming in. I don't know how many times I heard men saying their wives were shopping and he was bored so he stopped in.

Most of my stuff I order now, especially for the helicopters. It is much easier. I wish we had a good hobby shop around here. Danielles is pretty good but almost no heli stuff unless it is a small electric.

[NeveSSL]

Thats weird... the HobbyTown in Murfreesboro did the same thing... they went from a shopping center with Kroger in it (now Publix, I think) over to the other side of town. I think they may be doing better over there, but I'm not sure. Interesting!

Brandon

[Fanof49ASU]

I'm scared to keep looking at this thread.
I keep telling myself....."This is not the time!"

[NeveSSL]

Yep... I know that feeling all too well.

Brandon