suggestions

D

deye

New member
From the point of view of someone who is a complete noob to RFB and RC flying I have a couple of suggestions.

First a bit of background. I've had learning to fly an RC at the back of my mind for some time, but not seriously considered it (I have too many expensive hobbies as it is). Then a friend got one of those cheapo little toy helicopters last week, which I had a bit of fun with, so it was back in mind again.

I happened to be in a hobby shop today to get some thread inserts for something totally unrelated so had a quick look around (they were about to close) and saw they had RFB there, which peaked my interest as I really don't want to get a plane and then crash it immediately (probably will anyway). So I checked with the store that it flew just like the actual ones and that I could use it to learn, so bought it on a whim.

So after a bit of playing around for a bit these things come to mind.

1) There really should be a diagram (electronic or paper) that shows the controls and what they do. Yes the sticks are easy to work out, but the throw switches are confusing. I did find the answer after digging around here, but since it's for noobs it really should be with the simulator.

2) Although I checked the system specs on the bottom of the box, I didn't notice a tiny little sticker on which along with the bar code was written "mode 1" not that I have a clue what mode 1 is (I do now). You might want to make that a bit bigger, maybe on the front of the box (instead of the bottom) and maybe a little diagram to show what that is.

3) The wind, consider having an optional visual indicator of the wind, similar to the one that shows the aircraft close up. It could be handy for complete noobs - particularly since on the fields I've looked at you can't see the windsock from the default start position. That makes it a bit of a pain to set the wind conditions. Although you can hear the wind (when it's a gale) you can 't tell which way it's pointed. (until you blow the aircraft away)

4) Add a volume control for the game. It would be nice to be able to control the volume for the game without adjusting it for the entire system. Handy if you want to listen to music while flying.

Apart from that I love it, it's great and I'll be using it for quite some time before buying an actual RC aircraft - say after I can stay in the air for 5 minutes without crashing :)
 
actually after a bit of digging in my system Windows 7 allows you to adjust the different programs separately through the sound panel.
 
The controls are mostly basic, and you can find a wealth of information by using Google on how they work. That's how I learned the basics of flyng an RC helicopter. It would have been nice if the guy at the hobby shop told you the difference between Mode 1 and Mode 2. Most people in the US use Mode 2. If you look up RF at Towerhobbies.com, you'll see it listed twice, once for each mode. That, I think, would cause you to wonder which one would work better for you. The full version of RF has wind indicators. I don't know about RFB. The full version does have volume controls built in, too. Again, I don't know about RFB.
 
If you are in the US do not attempt to fly with a mode 1 controller. Take it back and try to exchange it for mode 2. It is inexcusable for a LHS to sell you the wrong mode system. You are right, it should be clearly labeled on the front, not only to prevent that mistake by the LHS, but also by the distributor while filling the order to the LHS.
 
I'm in Australia.
After reading up on mode 1 and 2 I think mode 2 would feel more natural.
 
You're better off (mostly) to fly the mode the locals fly. When you are first learning, you may find yourself in a situation where you panic, and want to give your radio to an experienced pilot.
 
deye said:
I'm in Australia.
After reading up on mode 1 and 2 I think mode 2 would feel more natural.
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I agree. The right stick is just like the control stick on a piper cub (ailerons and elevator) and the left stick is your throttle and foot peddles(rudder). I've seen many airplane pilots standing on the flight line with a cigarette in their left hand and only flying with the right stick. You can't do that with a heli because the rudder is an essential flight control.

I don't want to get into a debate about which is the better mode to fly as it's quite doable either way. I've also heard of noobs learning with the rudder reversed some how so they were flying the tail instead of the nose. The problem doesn't show up until he asks someone else to fly his plane. There is also a well known factory heli pilot that flys with his pitch reversed (down is up, up is down). He is one of the best in the world, but I bet he doesn't hand his transmitter to someone else to check out his setup.

So how you train your brain is a personal choice. It's probably best to choose the mode that everyone else in your area is using so you can get some help from other pilots. As far as thumb or pinch stick control is concerned, that is a purely personal choice. Choose the method that is most comfortable for you and gives you the most precise stick control. Just keep in mind that once you get your brain trained to a certain method is very difficult to retrain it later to a different one.

What is the predominate mode choice for Australia?
 
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amonaraize said:
mariah carey is my hero. u need to look up her E=2 cd and just download all those. especially love story and bye bye. good good songs. u prob already have this one but Suffocate by J. Holiday is amazing!
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Reported...........
 
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