- How do I become a member
... ?
AMA Application Page
- How can I learn more about
JCRCC & radio controlled flying ... ?
- I want to get started, what
will I need ... ?
- How can I get training
... ?
- Where can I
purchase kits and supplies ... ?
- How do I build
model airplanes or helicopters ... ?
- How many and what radio
frequencies can I use
... ?
- What propellers can I use on my 2 & 4
stroke engines ... ?
- How high and how far will it go ... ?
- How do I get started with Helicopters?
Join us at our monthly meetings at the Wall
Township Municipal
Building on the third Thursday of the month at 8:00 PM. Also bring along your current Academy of Model
Aeronautics membership card or if
you don't have one we will help you acquire it.
The best way is to come to a Jersey Coast Radio Control Club meeting or visit the
JCRCC
flying field and
talk to a club member. Check our
Calendar page for a schedule of
meetings and events. You can usually find someone at the club field on weekends and evenings when
the weather cooperates.
If you are just starting out you might be wise to talk to one of the club members before
you start spending your hard earned money on a plane that may not be suited for a newbie.
The exact components you will need depend partly on whether you decide to go
Gas or Electric, Glider/Sailplane or powered etc. Most people start out with a
2-cycle engine in a Trainer plane, with at least a 4-channel radio. Some accessories
that you may or may not need include, electric starter, Glow Plug Igniter, Fuel Pump and
Misc. tools. See Information and the R/C
Cost Estimator.
Jersey Coast Radio Control Club would like to help you get started in this great
hobby/sport. We have several members who volunteer their time to help teach new (and
sometimes not so new) pilots learn the basics of radio control flying. Do Not
try and go it alone unless you really enjoy rebuilding crashed planes.
Some sources for the items needed to fly and build RC airplanes and
helicopters include local hobby shops, mail order houses and other RC'ers willing to part with some of their
used stuff. Check out the links
page for more information.
Well after you become a member of our club there are may ways to learn to
build. Asking any of the members questions at the meetings or at the flying
field is the number one method. Subscribing to the model magazines is another
good source.
There are over 100 radio frequenceis for radio control some are strictly for air and some are strictly for land use. Also some require a FCC
license. Check out the Frequency Chart for usage.
There are many types of propellers on the market. Props are made of plastics,
composite materials, and wood. For the newbie I would suggest a composite prop
to start with because they take a little more abuse then the wood. After you get
the landings down you can switch to a wooden prop or like of alot of us just
stay with the composite. To pick the right size for you engine go to the Propeller
Chart and that will give you a starting point to get you in the ballpark.
Well, you only want to go high enough to be what we call three mistakes high. So you have time to recover from a wrong input or dumb thumbs. If your up too high or out too far your are not going to be able to see what the aircraft is doing and that would be a bad thing. Today's radio gear will transmit and receive a lot farther than our eye would be able to see.
Tips for Beginners (Helicopters)
If you are a newcomer to radio-controlled model
helicopters, you will probably be confused about what you need to buy and how
to get started. Following are a few tips which we think will help you get off
to a good start:-
1. Join a club. Any club will do, but we hope you will
consider ours if you live in the area. The main reason is that you will get
practical help from other members; but other reasons which you may not have
thought of include insurance, transmitter frequency control (how to stop
someone else's transmitter from interfering with yours), and safety practices.
All of these will be covered by a properly organized club.
2. Don't try to teach yourself. This is almost certainly
a recipe for one or more wrecked models, even if you have practiced on a
computer simulator. A good club will have members who are willing and able to
teach you, so go back to 1.
3. Buy a "30" sized model. Helicopters are
generally available in 3 sizes: 30, 46 and 60. Most people learn to fly with a
30 size model, mainly due to the price of the kits and spares. 60 size models
can be more stable and easier to see at a distance but the costs of kits and
spares is not cheap. There is no such helicopter as a trainer. It is the setup
of the heli that determines whether it is good for training or aerobatics. When
it comes to choosing your heli, take advice from a local club. This way you
will get to know which ones are reliable, value for money and spares are
readily available. The most popular models appear to be the Raptor, Shuttle,
Nexus, Concept and Space Baron.
4. Buy good brand name equipment. There are a variety of
engines available, some good, some not so good. Japanese engines are generally
top of the range and reliable, the last thing you need when training is an
engine that cuts regularly. There are also Chinese and eastern European makes
which are cheaper but vary in quality and noise output, so check with club
members first. Your radio gear will probably be Japanese or German, and will
preferably be a "computer" set ( these are coming down in price) and
have lots of useful features that you will use as you progress into the sport..
Remember, your engine and radio gear are re-usable in other models and are rarely
damaged when the heli crashes, so look on them as a long term investment. If
you buy all together, your model shop will probably give you a "deal"
price for heli, radio, and engine.
5. How to control the Helicopter. The helicopter has five
functions: Throttle, pitch, aileron, elevator and rudder. On most helis the
throttle and pitch are linked together and control by one stick. As you move
the stick up, throttle and pitch are added at the same time to make the
helicopter lift of the ground. This linking together allows the main rotor
blades to spin at a constant RPM allowing for smoother control. The aileron and
elevator, (or cyclic in heli terms) bank the helicopter left and right, and
pitch the nose up and down. The rudder allows the helicopter to yaw around its
axis. A fair bit of hand-to-eye co-ordination is required to fly a helicopter
but it's only practice that’s needed. It may seem hard at first but you will
soon get the hang of it.
6. Gyro's. I don't think anybody fly's without a gyro.
These devices are fitted between the rudder servo and receiver and provide
stability to the tail. Without them the torque of the rotor blades would yaw
the tail as the throttle stick is moved. Technology has moved on over the years
and now it is common to find heading lock gyro's at reasonable prices. These
can hold the tail in a rock solid position so it's possible to learn to hover
without having to worry about the rudder. There are flyers out there who think
this is a bad thing for learners as when you start circuits you will have to
fly the tail instead of allowing to naturally weathercock into the wind. As
with most things in life, you have to make your own decision on what’s best.
7. If you don't understand, ask for help. Most helicopter
instructions are very good and building one is no more difficult than building
with Meccano. Do not hesitate to come along to the club field if you have any
problems, especially when it comes to the setting up stage. A correctly set up
model will make a big difference to your rate of progress.
8. Accessories. There are certain items that you will
need to have in your pit box to enable you start the model. A starter is almost
essential (it is possible to buy engines with a pull start system included), a
12 volt battery to power the starter and a power panel that includes sockets
for a glow clip. Some power panels also have fuel pumps built in. If you don't
want a power panel you can buy a small battery just for powering the glow plug
and a manual fuel pump.
9. Take advice on fuel. This can be a real minefield.
Some flyers use fuel with no nitro, others use fuel with as much as 30% nitro.
The nitro content provides more power and aids cooling but is not cheap. Again,
visit the local club field and see what the flyers there use. Popular brands
include Model Technics, Cool Power and Liquid Gold.
10. Training aids. Buy a training undercarriage. This
usually consists of 4 sticks with balls on the ends that are joined together to
make a cross. Strapping this to the helis undercarriage will allow you to get
away with dodgy landings that would otherwise break the heli. They cost about
£15 but will save you that many times over!!! Also consider a simulator for a
home computer. Most will allow you to connect your transmitter to the computer
so enabling you to become familiar with the controls. There are varying
opinions as to how useful simulators are but it is generally thought that
whatever you master on the simulator you will have halfway there on the real
thing.
Note: The above is an opinion only. Go to a club field
and talk to experienced flyers before parting with your hard earned cash. (I
personally do not know who wrote this article, but can only assume it was
written by some jolly good bloke from the U.K. I thank him for his wisdom)
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